"In Everything, Give Thanks."

   Since I became a Christian and have been trying to live more like Christ – I have noticed that I like less and less about the world and how people act sometimes, and sometimes, I don’t even like some things about the way that I act.  There are things though, that I do like.  I like the acts of kindness and unselfishness, I like the ways that people try and love each other and the way that a lot of people want to try and please God, even though they may not know how.  I like it when people that may not know God personally yet, will participate in the things that Christians like to do.  It is great when we publicly celebrate our faith during certain times of the year like when we try to do during holidays.  There are some holidays that I like and some that I do not necessarily like.  I do not enjoy the way that some holidays seem like a big distraction from the truth and feel a little worldly instead. Sorry, but that is how I feel.

   However, Thanksgiving is definitely one of those holidays that I like a lot!  Thanksgiving is a day, a holiday, an attitude, and a biblical exhortation.  Paul encourages us in First Thessalonians to have a thankful attitude in “all” circumstances.

“Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.”

(1 Th. 5:18 GNB)

   This may sound like a radical statement, but I think that there is a lot of truth in it. We should try and continue to be thankful regardless of the circumstances that we are going through, whether good or bad.  One type of circumstance that we should remember to thank God during is – times of prosperity!

 

 

   That’s right, we need to remember to be thankful and talk with God when things are going well.  I think that there is an inherent temptation during easy times to get caught up in the comfort and conveniences that our society can sometimes offer and lose our seriousness to continue to pursue God.  It can be easy to get caught up in the world and its materialism and confuse our priorities.  There is a very interesting story in the gospels that gives an illustration of this.

“As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance and shouted, "Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!" Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you." On the way, they were made clean. When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. Jesus spoke up, "There were ten who were healed, where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" And Jesus said to him, "Get up and go; your faith has made you well."

(Lk. 17:11-19 GNB)

 

   Ten lepers were healed from this terrible disease and up to this point, they had no hope that they would ever be cured. Jesus began their healing and asked them to go to the Priests to provide a visible example to the religious community of the healing power of God.  The Bible says that as they were walking to the Temple area – they were made completely clean!  Can you imagine the excitement that must have come upon them as their skin began to heal before their eyes!  That must have been remarkable.  It is just interesting that only one of them, a foreigner, was the only one to have a heart of thankfulness and went and thanked Jesus for the healing.

   I think that there are a lot of reasons to give thanks when things are going well.  Here are a few.

1.     When we are thankful – we are recognizing where the blessings come from.  We are remembering that it is more by the grace of God; than our own efforts, that we are being blessed.

2.    Being thankful can be a way to relieve stress and anxiety.  It can keep our life in perspective.

3.    It can be a reminder of easy times when harder times come.

4.    It reminds us of all the things in our life that are good.

5.    It helps us keep a good perspective on life.

6.    Being thankful for what we do have might improve our temptations for greed and envy about what others have.

 

   I do not want to write too long today.  I hope it was enough to encourage you to be thankful and grateful to our great and loving God. Next time I will talk about being thankful during times of “adversity”.  I hope you have a great day of Thanksgiving.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Give thanks to the LORD because he is good because his mercy endures forever.

(Ps. 107:1 GW)

 

“ Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. .”

(Phil. 4:6,7 KJV)

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Lee Malden  2022

For more information: email lmalden@hotmail.com

 

These are my thoughts today, what do you think?  Please leave me a response or email me and I would be happy to hear your thoughts.