As we approach Thanksgiving this year, we all are prompted to remember the things we are thankful for. Families, friends, and food fill our thoughts as we prepare for this glorious day to celebrate and give thanks. The day comes and goes, and we are quickly thrust into the hustle and bustle of Christmas without even thinking twice. Have you ever thought about how crazy it all seems? Just one day a year is dedicated to giving thanks. Just one. More and more, even that one day is getting cut short as we rush off to wait in overnight lines to get the best deals that Black Friday has to offer. I find myself wondering, is this really how it’s supposed to be? Aren’t we missing the point all together?
Do you ever find yourself in your prayers thanking God for “the many blessings” that He has given you? So do I, and it’s a good thing to thank Him for our blessings. I wonder, though if it’s not just a rehearsed phrase anymore, a memorized line that we throw in out of duty or habit. How would your perspective on life change if you got specific and listed the blessings that you are thankful for? Could you list them? The Lord has been challenging me to a lifestyle of thanksgiving. Being thankful cannot be confined to one day in a year. Thankfulness is a way of life. Thanksgiving should be a lifestyle. When the hype of the holiday season fades, and we find ourselves in the middle of a dreary day in late January, do we give thanks even then? When our patience runs thin in the heat of a long, hard summer, do we give thanks even then? When the pressures of life, work, and family weigh heavily upon us, do we give thanks even then?
God’s Word has a lot to say about giving thanks, and a common theme I find in scripture is giving thanks always, for everything, and in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Ephesians 5:20 follows the challenge for us to walk in wisdom by saying, “…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Thank God for everything, all the time, really? Thank Him for the financial hardship? Thank Him for the divorce? Thank Him for the cancer, the lost loved one, the pain? In no way am I suggesting that the Lord would require you to say, “God, thank you for giving me cancer. I love it, I’m so thankful for it.” I am suggesting however, that we are to thank Him for how He’s going to use it in our lives by entrusting even our trials to His good purposes, which are always for His glory and for our good (Romans 8:28). You see, a life of thanksgiving is not dependent upon circumstances. It is dependent upon God’s Word. Psalm 136 alone gives us 26 reasons to give thanks, all summed up into one: His steadfast love endures forever. The fact that His love for us endures forever is enough reason to give thanks always and in everything. Let His love be your motivation for a lifestyle of thanksgiving. May thankfulness be far more than one day, but rather may it fill your every day. What are you thankful for today? Praise the LORD, for He is good. Tell Him what you’re thankful for. Begin today to pursue a lifestyle of thanksgiving.
Deb Bradshaw says
I’ve been sharing this very message with Cherie’s brother Herm…I’m so thankful for YOU!!!!
Denise Hulcher says
Cherie, well said! Do we ever consider the blessings of protection the Lord gives us and we don’t even realize it. Maybe we’re upset because a family member is causing us to get out the door only to be late for an event, when God has possibly spared us from a tragic traffic accident! We have so MUCH to be thankful for we sometimes don’t even realize it. Thank you Cherie for taking your time to share this message.
Lori Blair says
Ah, another tear jerker for me! Lately I find myself struggling with this very thing. Sometimes in the midst of a storm it is hard to find things to be thankful for. I am thankful for this great devotion and for the amazing author that God is working through!