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Special Post: From Thanksgiving to Anticipation

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash


Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT)
"Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!"

Looking Back: A Season of Giving

Over the past month, we’ve walked through a season of giving:

  • The Joy of Generosity – how giving reflects God’s own heart.

  • The Example of Christ – who gave Himself for us.

  • Unappreciated Values in Giving – where love, benevolence, and opportunity shine.

  • Giving Thanks to God – not just with words, but with our lives.

Each week reminded us that gratitude is not a day, but a lifestyle; not a single offering, but a rhythm of worship. We learned that true thanksgiving is not just about what we say but what we do—how we live with open hands and open hearts.

Looking Ahead: A Season of Waiting

As we conclude this season of giving, we now step into another sacred season—the season of Advent. Just as Thanksgiving teaches us to look back in gratitude, Advent teaches us to look forward in hope.

Advent is about anticipation. It reminds us that God’s greatest gift—the gift of His Son—came to us wrapped not in gold, but in swaddling cloths. It points us not only to Bethlehem’s manger, but also to the promised return of Christ, when all things will be made new.

The Thread That Ties Them Together

Thanksgiving and Advent are not separate—they flow into one another. Gratitude naturally gives birth to hope. The One we thank is also the One we await.

Paul wrote, “Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!” (2 Cor. 9:15). That gift is Jesus Christ, who came once and will come again. The same God who has blessed us richly in the past will be faithful to complete His promises in the future.

Reflection & Practice

  • What has God taught you in this season of giving?

  • How can gratitude shape the way you enter into Advent?

  • Take a moment today to write a prayer that begins in thanksgiving and ends in anticipation.

Closing Thought

The season of giving is never really over—it simply shifts its focus. From giving thanks for what God has done, we now prepare our hearts to receive again the wonder of His coming.

Let us move together from thanksliving into hope-waiting—from gratitude for the past into anticipation for the future.

Starting Sunday, November 30, we’ll begin a new Advent series here at The Quiet Chaplain. Together, we’ll light the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, and discover how Christ’s coming changes everything. I hope you will join me as we celebrate God's greatest gift—the gift of His Son.

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