Choosing to Give Thanks

How often do you stop to think about the many blessings you have?

Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I am more aware than ever just how thankful I am for my relationship with Christ, my family and the many blessings God provides me. Even when life doesn’t go as planned, or I experience loss, rejection, failure or set-backs, there are always aspects of life I can choose to focus on and be thankful for

Let me encourage you to continue to courageously choose to focus on aspects of our lives we are thankful for.

Here are three ways we can exercise thanksgiving:

 Pray Daily with Thankfulness

In Colossians 4:2, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude ofthanksgiving.”^[1]Paul wrote this verse while awaiting trial for sharing the gospel. He could easily have been distracted, discouraged or adopted a negative disposition. Instead, he courageously chose to stay alert, maintain his devotion to prayer and remain thankful for the blessings he did have. Daily prayer is critical in every believer’s life. When we begin each day communicating thankfulness to God, we honor Him and guard ourselves from distractions, discouragement and negative dispositions. 

Serve Others out of Thankfulness

In Jonah 2:9, the wayward prophet, Jonah, recognized salvation is from God and he vowed to sacrifice and give back to God as a way of expressing his thankfulness. It’s easy for us to get caught up in our daily lives and forget the magnitude of God’s sacrifice for our salvation. When we intentionally set aside time to share the gospel and willingly sacrifice our comforts and desires to care for others, we honor God and genuinely express true thankfulness for all He has done for us.

Express Thankfulness Openly

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul expressed thankfulness for his brother’s and sister’s in Christ and recognized their faithfulness to God and love for one-another. God allows our lives to intersect with other believers who encourage us with their love and through their faithfulness to God. When we openly express our thankfulness for godly friendships, we maintain an attitude of gratitude that honors God and encourages others.

Join me in courageously focusing on the blessings God has given you by praying, sacrificing, serving and cherishing godly friendships each and every day. When we make thankfulnessthe focus of our day, we maintain a positive attitude and are less likely to become discouraged and depressed.

^[1]NASB: 1995 Update(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Colossians 4:2.