The Thank You That Comes Before the Answer
October ended on one sentence: the battle is not yours. This month asks what you do on the morning after. Four stories, and in every one the thank you comes before the answer, or in the middle of the loss: a mother walking her only son up a hill and leaving him there, a king dancing in the street with all his might, two prisoners singing at midnight with their feet in the stocks, and Jesus giving thanks over five loaves before there was enough. November walks thirty-two Hebrew and Greek words for the thank you that costs something.
The Bible's answer is short, and it is harder than it sounds. You say thank you. Out loud, to God, by name, for what he did. And the Bible is not talking about manners. It is talking about something closer to a sacrifice, and some of the people in it paid for their thank you with the most precious thing they had.
From the Welcome letter, Words of Gratitude
Each session is designed for 45-60 minutes of group or individual study. Hebrew and Greek words below link to their full library pages where they exist.
Hannah. A barren wife mocked at the feast every year, a prayer with moving lips and no sound, a priest who thinks she is drunk, a vow, a son, and the day she walks him back up the hill and leaves him there.
David. A first attempt to bring the ark home that ends with a man dead, a king angry and afraid, a house blessed for three months, and then a king dancing in the street with all his might while his wife watches from a window and despises him.
Paul and Silas. Beaten with rods, feet in the stocks, singing hymns at midnight, an earthquake, a jailer with a sword in his hand, and a meal served at an hour when no one eats.
Jesus and the five thousand. A hungry crowd on a hillside, a boy's lunch, a prayer of thanks over five loaves and two fish, and twelve baskets left over.
Integration. What a mother, a king, two prisoners, and a boy with five loaves all gave back, where it came from in the first place, and what to do with it on Thanksgiving week.