Today is Thanksgiving in the US. Thankfulness is constant for believers, but even those who do not follow Jesus speculate that when we’re thankful, the world is a better place. Everything seems to work better when we’re thankful. Everything comes up short when we feel like we got the dirty end of the stick.
Give God Thanks
Today, I thank God. Before my parents met, I was part of God’s plan. I miss my parents. They gave me quite a lot and I was never all that grateful. But the deeper the relationship I develop with God, the more grateful I am for my parents. They were a blessing to me and God used them to give me characteristics and traits that I can’t explain. Again, God was lining up his idea for my grandkids through my parents. God is the source of every good thing.
And that’s why I want to be thankful. Even in difficult times and situations, when I’m grateful, live is easier. I can face hardships and difficulties because I know a good God knew me before, during, and after those difficulties, and I was his choice to fill this spot in this world.
Thankfulness Glorifies God
God also uses our thankfulness for his glory. Glory is a strange word, but when our friends are aware of God, that’s glory. Our thankfulness is evidence that we believe in God. When others see him and appreciate him, that’s glory. When we can be thankful, even for (or better, in) the difficult and challenging things that happen, others can see God.
It doesn’t make sense to be thankful if there is no God. Good things are dumb luck and so are the bad. Why be thankful if, outside of ourselves, there is no source for our good fortune? Thanks is very difficult in a godless world or in a world directed by a heartless tyrant. Thanks makes the most sense in a world created and run by an all-knowing, almighty, all-loving God.
Thanks is Limited Only by Us
Next week, let’s take thanks with us back to work. Let’s complain less and appreciate more. Let’s give and encourage more. The fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are only limited by us. God will supply all we will apply. Let’s renew our efforts to apply all of the fruit we can.
I’m grateful for our forefathers that saw fit to make this a national holiday in the US. Now, I hope God will help me remain thankful the other 364 days of the year, too.
Thankfulness is the key. It opens our mind to God’s possibilities and it stands out in a selfish, frustrated, fearful, dying world.
Featured Photo by Kiy Turk on Unsplash; In-text photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
