Happy Thanksgiving!
I was looking for some John Piper clips on obedience the other day to help one of my Piper-fan friends struggling through a time in which he doesn’t feel like obeying God. I came across this video that didn’t capture precisely what I was looking for, but did resonate in my heart about the relationship between thanksgiving and faith. I thought the metaphor that Piper uses is very elegant and helpful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huN7VidulwEThanksgiving and Faith are two voices that have a conversation in one’s soul.
Imagine if you will the individual who is standing on the precipice of a waterfall where the future cascades over the present and collects in a beautiful pool below. 
Thanksgiving is the voice that is constantly looking back to the glorious pool that has collected all the grace that flowed by and is shouting, “Isn’t God great! Look what He has done. See what He has done in redemptive history, and see what He has done in my own personal life!”
The voice of gratitude then turns to faith and says, “Do you see what God has done? Do you hear me? Now do your job.” So, faith is the voice that constantly is looking ahead, anticipating God’s grace flowing his way in the future. Faith needs to hear and listen carefully to gratitude. On the basis of all that God has done, faith says, “I will now embrace with certainty the promises of God for my future.” Gratitude has a place in informing faith as to what it can bank on.
May your Thanksgiving day being one of many days whereby your gratitude informs your faith as to what it can be certain about in regard to God’s future promises!
