“Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High” (Psalm 50:14).

Yesterday, for the first time in 11 months, I found myself asking for a towel to dry my freshly washed, dripping hair. It felt so new and unexpected that I paused and truly appreciated what I was experiencing. Losing my hair to cancer last August was the unmistakable, visible sign every cancer patient carries. Some come to terms with it sooner than others. I had mixed emotions—some days I accepted it, while other times I deeply mourned its loss. But today, I paused and realized that everything God promised me over the past 15 months has come true—including the healthy regrowth of my hair. I told myself this was a day of thanksgiving. I even shared this joyful moment with my children. It was going to be a public recognition.😊

I thanked Him for the small towel, for His provision, and for the modest piece of clothing that restored a greater sense of identity and femininity. It may seem insignificant to some, but not to me. I have learned to work hard and never take anything for granted.

I realize now it wasn’t my body taking control as they claim, nor the miracle of shampoos and oils that restored my hair. I recognize it as the gracious Hand of God, intimately knowing every detail of my body, reviving each healthy cell to work on my behalf. Because of this, I am compelled, encouraged, and empowered to give thanks—offering nothing but pure gratitude.

This gratitude came more naturally than the one I struggled to feel months ago when I was first diagnosed with cancer. Like every day last year, I faithfully continued my devotional readings in the Psalms without missing a single one. I trusted the inspired word of God and the transformative power it held for my life. After several consecutive days of fasting that Adi and I undertook, I was ready to read Psalm 50.

I began by praying that God would accept my day of fasting, look upon me with favor, and hear my pleas for healing despite my diagnosis. Then my eyes landed on verses 14 and 15. God was inviting me to offer Him my heart before my fast—to place my true worship and trust in His plans above all else. How could I thank Him for a diagnosis filled only with fear and uncertainty? Hungry for every word that comes from His mouth, I embraced the psalm and started thanking Him. For that day, I believed gratitude was exactly what He wanted from me.

After that Thursday night, as the church service came to an end, a brother in Christ came and approached me with a prophetic word from the Lord. Not knowing what I was going through, as my cancer diagnosis was not known to anyone yet, he told me “God wants you to not fear, to not be anxious but only to bring Him thanks and give him praise for the situation at hand. He would provide the victory, but for now- yours were to be a heart full of thanksgiving”. It was a second confirmation of something I have just read that morning. Verses 14 and 15 became a deeper reality for me, one that cemented my faith in God’s Truth. I was to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. 

Have you ever wondered why thanksgiving is described as a sacrifice? Shouldn’t words of gratitude come easily, naturally flowing in response to answered prayers? Why is it called a sacrifice?

Sacrifices are never easy to make. They always come at a cost. I believe there are moments in life when saying “thank you” or feeling grateful for difficult circumstances feels nearly impossible. For me, there was an unspoken price attached—It cost me my fears, my worries about my family, my countless questions about how and when this would end, and my long journey toward healing.

It cost me my self-esteem to ponder surgery and its aftermath. A sacrifice of thanksgiving is offered to the God who provides, even before the smallest provision is revealed, brought before the God who heals, before any healing occurs. Scriptures like these revealed God’s deepest desire for a worshiper who offers more than words—sounds that transcend fasting and other spiritual disciplines.

Thanksgiving has touched me more deeply than mere emotions. It forged a more personal relationship with my Lord Jesus. An immediate and intentional response to His written promises. And now, months later, gratitude is an active response to His fulfilled promises. He has heard my cry, delivered me, healed me, so I can publicly echo the psalmist words and shared it with the world:” I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord (Psalm116: 17).  I am thankful for the hair regrowth. For the towel that dries it. The sacrifice of thanksgiving was worth it. From the very beginning.

It is my prayer as you read my testimony, that you will thrust your pain, your worries, your failures, and your deepest wants, —-to the God who provides—. To the One, who calls us to worship Him with a thankful heart, all the while firmly anchored that your call on Him on your day of trouble, won’t go unanswered. He will rescue you. And then you will honor Him. With a loud thanksgiving, with a multitude of words and songs of praise. (Psalm 50:15) For tangible proofs. For evident outcomes. Even for a towel….

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”.  (John 15:4)