Thankfulness
Being thankful isn’t just for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scripture tells us to be thankful in everything, in all circumstances. When we give the Lord thanks even in the midst of a trial, a hard season, adversity or difficult circumstances He gives us joy. Giving thanks in the midst of difficult times may seem illogical and takes practice. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 the Lord tells us to be thankful in all circumstances. God wants us to be thankful in the good and the bad. Often times God instructs us to do what is humanly impossible because he calls us to live a supernatural life like Jesus. This is obedience! When we obey the Lord in this way are always blessed. But I know this is not easy, their will be times our circumstances are so heavy that it will be hard to give the Lord thanks. And it sure won’t make sense especially to unbelievers. But an attitude of thankfulness opens our hearts to the Lord’s presence and our minds to the Lord’s thoughts.
When we find ourselves overwhelmed with the burdens and worrying about our circumstances, we can praise God for who he is and his promise to never leave us or forsake us. He cares so much about us and about every detail of our lives. He walks with us through every season, he goes with us on the mountain top and in the deepest valley. God is always with us. He has promised to never leave us. Rather than being anxious, we should pray. We should thank God not only for what He is going to do, but we should thank him for what He has already done. This is one of the reason why I love to journal and write down my prayer requests. I keep a record of all that the Lord has done. In some cases he has answered our prayers exactly the way we had hoped but in most cases He answered in a way we would never expect or maybe would not have chosen. But we can trust that the Lord knows best. His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). In the midst of our circumstance we can remember that The Lord works all things together for the good of those who love him. Even when we can’t see how a circumstance or trial can bring anything good, we can trust that our loving heaven father knows what he is doing and we can trust that He is in control.
When we give praise and thanksgiving we deepen our joy. As you count your blessings you are able to recall God’s goodness. He has saved us. He provides for our needs. He strengthens us when we are weak. He is worthy of our praise. It is good for us to express our thankfulness to God! A common way we can give our thanks to the Lord is through prayer. Besides bringing our problems, sorrows or doubts to our Heavenly Father it is good to mention our blessings as well. This will help us remember God’s goodness to us and will help us develop and attitude of thankfulness.
In our prayers let us be intentional to thank the Lord for all his blessings!
💜Cheryl