ACIM Daily Lesson 123 I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
Lesson 123
I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
1. Today let us be thankful. ²We have come to gentler pathways and to smoother roads. ³There is no thought of turning back, and no implacable resistance to the truth. ⁴A bit of wavering remains, some small objections and a little hesitance, but you can well be grateful for your gains, which are far greater than you realize.
Well, this is just a lovely lesson today. I am grateful to my Father that He created me and holds me in Himself forever unchanged and safe. I am grateful for the peace of mind that has been mine for a while now and that remains mine unless I disturb it with dead thoughts. No doubt, I have come a long way and there is no turning back.
I could not even imagine turning back now that I know there is nothing to turn back to. Sometimes I do disturb my peace with untrue thoughts and the ego argues this means I have made no progress at all. But I know that is not true. Even when I slip briefly back into the story, I know that I have come a far greater distance than I realize at that moment. I trust my Father’s gifts and I trust myself to accept them.
A Day Devoted to Gratitude
2. A day devoted now to gratitude will add the benefit of some insight into the real extent of all the gains which you have made; the gifts you have received. ²Be glad today, in loving thankfulness, your Father has not left you to yourself, nor let you wander in the dark alone. ³Be grateful He has saved you from the self you thought you made to take the place of Him and His creation. ⁴Give Him thanks today.
The ego-mind doesn’t stop its litany of lies just because I have learned they are not true. If I listen to them and give them any credence at all, I can feel these untrue thoughts tugging at me. I used to believe I was a sinner and I could list the sins for you to prove my point. Even the idea of confession and penance didn’t relieve me of my guilt. Now that I know the world is not real and now that I know that what God creates is not changeable, I no longer feel like a sinner.
Errors Are Not Sins
And yet, if I accidentally cause harm to someone, for instance, I still hear the ego call me a sinner. Worse than a sinner, really, because now I know better and now my responsibilities are greater as a messenger of God. Generally, I recognize this as the desperate act of the split mind trying to prevent my defection. But sometimes it is like I fall into a trance of old thinking.
And for a while, I forget how much progress I have made. For a while, I doubt myself and in so doing, doubt God’s gifts to me. But you know what? That is all meaningless. My Father did not leave me alone to wander the dark places in my mind. I have a Guide to bring me back to sanity and errors are not sins. Forgetfulness is not a sin and nothing is lost. I just shake myself back awake and go on happily with my day.
He Has Not Abandoned You
3. Give thanks that He has not abandoned you, and that His Love forever will remain shining on you, forever without change. ²Give thanks as well that you are changeless, for the Son He loves is changeless as Himself. ³Be grateful you are saved. ⁴Be glad you have a function in salvation to fulfill. ⁵Be thankful that your value far transcends your meager gifts and petty judgments of the one whom God established as His Son.
Thank you, God, that I am not this fragile, vulnerable human being that I pretend to be. I am Your creation, an extension of You, unchangeable and eternal. I am grateful that nothing I can imagine can affect what I am. And I am just as grateful that I have a function to fulfill that will bring me out of this dream world and help others wake up as well. Deep within my mind was a knowing that, as improbable as it seemed at the time, I was supposed to be doing something important here. And I felt uneasy not knowing what it was so it was such relief when I finally realized my purpose.
We Lift Our Hearts
4. Today in gratitude we lift our hearts above despair, and raise our thankful eyes, no longer looking downward to the dust. ²We sing the song of thankfulness today, in honor of the Self that God has willed to be our true Identity in Him. ³Today we smile on everyone we see, and walk with lightened footsteps as we go to do what is appointed us to do.
I never really forget why I am here anymore, but the business of the day can draw my attention from it. It feels wonderful to have a whole day dedicated to remembering and honoring my purpose. I love that all over the world, millions of my brothers are doing the same thing today. We are all walking a little taller, smiling a little more, our hearts swelling with gratitude that God created us as part of Him. And while much has been seen, nothing has happened that affects His creation one little bit.
An Unheard Message
5. We do not go alone. ²And we give thanks that in our solitude a Friend has come to speak the saving Word of God to us. ³And thanks to you for listening to Him. ⁴His Word is soundless if it be not heard. ⁵In thanking Him the thanks are yours as well. ⁶An unheard message will not save the world, however mighty be the Voice that speaks, however loving may the message be.
6. Thanks be to you who heard, for you become the messenger who brings His Voice with you, and lets It echo round and round the world. ²Receive the thanks of God today, as you give thanks to Him. ³For He would offer you the thanks you give, since He receives your gifts in loving gratitude, and gives them back a thousand and a hundred thousand more than they were given. ⁴He will bless your gifts by sharing them with you. ⁵And so they grow in power and in strength, until they fill the world with gladness and with gratitude.
His Voice Speaks to Us
God’s Voice speaks to us all and does so all day long and into the night as well. We owe gratitude that this is so. However, we are owed gratitude for listening because without a listener, His Voice remains unheard. And we also are owed gratitude for sharing His words. How wonderful that when we accept His word, we become the messenger and it echoes around the world. Isn’t that incredible! As Jesus so eloquently and succinctly states: An unheard message will not save the world, however mighty be the Voice that speaks, however loving may the message be.
His Care Is Deep and Limitless
7. Receive His thanks and offer yours to Him for fifteen minutes twice today. ²And you will realize to Whom you offer thanks, and Whom He thanks as you are thanking Him. ³This holy half an hour given Him will be returned to you in terms of years for every second; power to save the world eons more quickly for your thanks to Him.
8. Receive His thanks, and you will understand how lovingly He holds you in His Mind, how deep and limitless His care for you, how perfect is His gratitude to you. ²Remember hourly to think of Him, and give Him thanks for everything He gave His Son, that he might rise above the world, remembering his Father and his Self.
As I contemplated my gratitude to God and to Jesus, I cried happy tears. I thought about everyone reading or listening to this and my gratitude overflowed again. We are doing so much to help us all awaken. We are so loved and cared for. How could we be anything but grateful? I am deeply touched that God is grateful to me, too. I gladly give time to Him today and thank Him for using my devotion to heal us all.
Contemplation 2026
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 123 click here.
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