The Miracles Of ThanksgivingSample

## Thanksgiving Opens The Door To The Miracle Of Multiplication The miracle of multiplication sounds impressive, and I wish I lived in Jesus’ time to have seen that first hand. Don’t we all wish sometimes to be in the time Jesus walked the earth? To see first-hand the many miracles Jesus performed, I wonder what the atmosphere was like when Jesus turned the water into wine, or healed people from leprosy, or stopped the flow of blood from the woman bleeding for twelve years. Imagine everywhere Jesus went there were crowds of people pressing in to experience a miracle, and even though the works Jesus performed seems phenomenal and impossible to us, he expects us to function just like him with the help of the Holy Spirit. Miracles are happening all the time around us and even through us, but sometimes we are not aware of it because of the busy schedules and clutter of everyday life. But, thankfulness will lead us to a place of gratitude, and gratitude will open the door for miracles. Jesus lived His life always being aware of the free favors of God, and He was not consumed with hoarding, saving for rainy days, or building his portfolio of success. He lived a life poured out, yet He never ran out, the key to this way of life was His ability to be thankful. Before Jesus would go out on the road, the Bible tells us of times he took to prayer early in the mornings and late at nights. Prayer was Jesus’ communication line to His Father, just as we have today. Jesus never ventured out to do anything for the kingdom unless he was charged up from his time in the secret place. Twice, the same miracle takes place with Jesus and His disciples accounted for in two consecutive chapters in the book of Matthew. On both occasions mentioned in the Bible, Jesus first feeds five thousand people and then four thousand people. Can you wrap your mind around the numbers? The Bible also states that with the five thousand, it did not include women and children. Jesus had little to work with – with only five loaves and two fish he feeds the multitudes. When Jesus asked the disciples what they had available, their response was, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.” (Matthew 14:17). Their answer tells us they limited the potential of what they had in their hands by using the word only. How often we too face lack in our lives, we seem to have more month than money, and we use the very same statements like the disciples, we say things like, “I only have a little leftover so I can’t be generous,” or “this is all I have, and it will never be enough.” Statements like these were never part of Jesus’ speech, and as a result, He brought God into his little and watched it multiply. Jesus called for the loaves and fish, and on both occasions, Jesus did the same thing – he gave thanks for the little, and the supernatural happened. Mind you, the five loaves and the seven loaves did not multiply in abundance at once. There wasn’t basket loads of bread to share out, the multiplication happened with the same loaves, as the people broke the bread it just replenished itself. When we learn to be thankful for the little we have in hand, we may not see an abundance all at once, but what we will experience, is there will always be more than enough. The key is to remain thankful as God continues to supply our needs. “When we choose thankful prayer over wallowing in anxiety and worry, we are demonstrating an unwavering trust in God.” –Priscilla Shirer