Being Thankful
Dear Sisters,
I want to share some thoughts with you from a Sunday School lesson I heard recently. It was on being thankful and what benefits could be gained. How easy it is for the enemy to bring discouraging things to our mind, which will result in complaining—the opposite of thanksgiving. They can be over such little things as happened to me the other day. My husband and I were grocery shopping together. I was out of liquid Dove which I use in my bath water. I went down the soap aisle and picked one up and brought it back to the shopping cart. My husband asked how much it was and I told him. He thought we could get it less expensive somewhere else and advised me to wait. So I put it back. The devil began talking to me: “He doesn’t know you had already added water to the last little bit over a month ago to stretch it out. And you know you have been watching the ads for it to be on sale at Walgreens, Target and Wal-Mart for a long time now. How unfair of him! He buys things he wants!” Sisters, does this sound familiar to you? I am sure I’m not the only one the devil works on! Let’s watch out here. We can be under the law of our husbands, doing it in the wrong spirit of submission and miss the blessing the Lord has for us. The Lord helped me to resist those ugly thoughts and cling to the scripture, “all things work together for good”; perhaps it will be on sale next week, or it is possible it would be a lower price at another store. The enemy will try anything to rob us of our victory, thus making us a poor example in the home. A couple of evenings later—I found a sack with a bottle of Dove inside. He had found it cheaper!
The first verse of the lesson was: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts… and be ye thankful.” (Colossians 3:15) Let’s meditate on the word rule a minute first. Webster says rule means, “an established guide for action, conduct; a fixed principle that determines conduct; habit; custom: as, morning prayer was a rule of the household.” If we keep the peace of God in our hearts, it will be a natural outflow to be thankful, will it not?
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14) As we work to feed and clothe our family, we have the privilege of letting our minds dwell on what God has done for us. Thank Him for saving our souls from sin and for being partakers with Him. Isn’t this is the greatest blessing of all!
Then there are the temporal blessings. “Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.” (Deuteronomy 8:6-10) Having a fountain of thanksgiving welling up within the soul begets obedience. Let’s not get lifted up in pride and forget from whence all our blessings have come. The Lord does bless us with earthly things, but that is not what the Lord wants to show the world through us. Think of Job and how God allowed the devil to test him. We do not admire Job for his riches, but his integrity and attitude when the trials came. Job magnified the Lord in his losses by saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21) One definition of the word bless is: “to feel gratitude toward.” Just think of it; feeling gratitude toward God in all his sufferings and losses! Lord, help us to measure to all His word. And the Lord was grateful to Job for his integrity and blessed Job back again. What a wonderful, loving God we serve! It seems to me that thanksgiving is a short-cut to victory in our trials.
Have you ever thought about what David said about the sacrifice of thanksgiving? He said, “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.” (Psalm 107:21-22) Sacrifice means “a giving up,” or “foregoing of some valued thing for the sake of something of greater value.” Do you really think the Israelites felt like sacrificing the most beautiful lamb of the flock? That would be the one most desirable for a pet! Are we petting some of our desires or feelings? Are we willing to sacrifice our feelings of being misunderstood, our desires being denied, or…? And just obey the Lord and give Him thanksgiving for it all. It is up to us. If we chose to obey the Lord, He will help us in our times of need (Psalm 50:14-15).
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) There is something protective and beneficial about giving thanks in all things. It’s like a heavenly chariot carrying you away from troubles and anxieties. Didn’t the song writer say,
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!*
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6) Many things can leave scars, but giving thanks brings healing. When we can say thank you for taking care of the need; it is in His hands and we can be thankful.
There is guidance in thanksgiving. Ever hear anyone thank the Lord for cigarettes, alcohol, or something they stole? If you have acquired anything you cannot thank the Lord for—you better re-examine! “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.” (Colossians 3:17)
It is a wonderful thing to be able to thank the Lord. I am greatly encouraged to nurture more thanksgiving in my life. It is our choice how we set our sails. If we set our will to be more thankful in our trials, God will surely do His part to fill your heart and home with His love and thanksgiving in this new year.
A sister in the Lord.