Jesusluvsall's Blog

This may sound crazy, but I will never forget the time I was thankful for a tube of toothpaste. I was in the valley of depression and things weren’t going well at the time. Then one day I was cleaning, which is not easy when dealing with depression, and came upon a tube of toothpaste I had forgotten about. I had bought it a month before when it was on sale. The thought hit me that I would not need to go anywhere that day to buy toothpaste and I thanked God I would not need to go shopping. That moment began my path out of the valley of depression.

Isaiah wrote about what the promised Messiah, Jesus, would do for us. Among those things Jesus would do for us we find in Isaiah 61:

 “and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.”

Jesus will give us a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Despair is not from God. Despair is loss of hope. If we feel there is no hope, that feeling is not from God. Jesus is our solid eternal hope.

When I thanked God for that tube of toothpaste that day, it clicked in my mind to try to thank God for things in my life no matter how small or silly they may seem to others. Step by step Jesus helped me climb out of that valley of depression.

This month we have one of our biggest holidays in America, Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 22nd. That is only two short weeks from today. So Thursdays in November I want to share things I am thankful for.

For me it starts with saying that I am thankful for Jesus. I don’t want to think about what my life would look like without Jesus. On the rare occasions that I see someone from my teen years and tell them that I teach ESL and am in part-time ministry, their response is to ask what happened to you.

Jesus is my Savior not only for eternal life, but also in this life. He literally saved my life from dying when I was sick in the 1990s. He gave my life meaning and purpose.He brought me out of the pit of depression. He brought people from all over the world into my life. I am so thankful for Jesus.

In these days of post election in the U.S., days of turmoil everywhere, being thankful can help thwart the spirit of despair. Please join me in expressing thankfulness to God. What are you thankful for?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.