A Thanksgiving Devotion
Do you like to go camping? I know I sure do! Now, here’s another one. Have you ever been camping with your family or had to walk through a really dark space, and the only way to where you are heading is by listening to the sound of your parent’s voice? Sounds a little bit more challenging, huh?
When you are in the woods, especially at night, there are many other sounds, like squirrels hopping from tree to tree, owls cooing, leaves rustling in the wind, tree limbs cracking, and the list goes on. It can be very distracting if it is dark and you are trying to find your way, yet keep getting distracted by the many sounds and noises around us to pay attention to the one that is actually going to get you to your destination.
What if you didn’t have the security of your parent’s voice? You would be wandering around in the dark, constantly changing directions to head towards every new sound you heard, probably walking until dawn. But thank goodness your parent’s voice is louder than all of the noise. They know the way and they are here to save the day! This scenario actually reminds me of the teaching we are going to read from Jesus.
Today, we are going to be reading John 16:5-15. This is when Jesus is telling His disciples that He is going to have to go away for God to be able to then send His Advocate, which is also the same as saying the Holy Spirit or Spirit of Truth! This would mean that Jesus could be with all of the people who believed in Him all at the same time, rather than just being with one person! How cool is that?
He also says in this scripture that the Holy Spirit will come to “guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come”. This means that the Holy Spirit is personal to everyone who believes in Jesus and is able to guide and lead us to the truth about who Jesus was and why He came to earth in the form of a man. It also means that He will be guiding you on how you can use the gifts that you have in order to tell others about Jesus, too! Some of these gifts could be dreams, visions, wisdom, or revelations that were spoken and given to you by the Holy Spirit! This is something we can all be truly grateful for.
As we’re coming up on Thanksgiving, as a family, remind each other that you have gifts from Jesus and that that is something to be grateful for. How can you help others by using your spiritual gifts?
Family Thanksgiving Devotion Questions:
1. What is a really hard situation that you have gone through this year? How did you make it through?
2. What are some ways you can be paying attention for the Holy Spirit to guide you?
3. Who are some influences in your life you can ask how the Holy Spirit has moved in their life?
4. What is something you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving?