Today 25th November 2021 is the National holiday in the U.S and Canada for Thanksgiving. It is a day to celebrate gratitude. It’s great that it comes towards the end of the year. It is a perfect time to reflect over the year and find specific things to be grateful for.
I will share a few thoughts on thankfulness…
TO WHOM SHOULD WE SHOW OUR GRATITUDE?
James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” This tells me that all the good I possess originates with God. God orchestrates circumstances and uses people to bring me good. I can attribute all the good in my life to Him, whether I can see it as so directly or not. This does not mean that we shouldn’t appreciate those that God uses to bless us, we certainly should for them accepting to be used by Him. However, ultimately He is the source of everything good.
WHEN SHOULD WE SHOW OUR GRATITUDE?
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” This scripture seems almost too difficult to take in. Give thanks? In all circumstances? All the hard portions of scripture are possible with the Holy Spirit as our helper. He can enable us have an attitude of gratitude even through the storms of life. I don’t believe that this scripture is telling us to be grateful for the difficult things we go through but that in all circumstances we can find something to be grateful for. God is always at work and we can trust that even the difficult situations will work out for good and even when we do not understand we can thank God for what He is doing that we might not yet understand.
HOW CAN WE EXPRESS GRATITUDE?
- Every day take a few minutes to journal. As you do so, reflect on the events of the day and write down what good you are thankful for.
- When you pray, thank your Father in heaven for the good for that day, visible or invisible.
- Tell someone. Let someone know what you are thankful for. This could lift their spirit and probably even help them realize the good in their own lives that they hadn’t recognized.
- Always say, THANK YOU. No matter how small the favour, no matter who it is, say thank you to anyone that has shown you kindness.
