Gratitude

It’s Thanksgiving week, the time of year when, as a nation, we remember God’s blessings and give attention to the things for which we are thankful.

I love Thanksgiving. I love what an effective reminder it is about gratitude. But part of me can’t help but wonder what our lives would be like if we focused on gratitude throughout the year—and not just for one week in November.

“With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love to Israel endures forever’” (Ezra 3:11).

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30).

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4, NIV).

Praise and thanksgiving weren’t just once-a-year occurrences for the ancient Israelites. Thanksgiving, in fact, was central to their worship. As they understood it, gratitude was something that ushered us into the presence of God.

God loves to be in the presence of praise and thanksgiving. When He finds someone willing to praise Him, He surrounds that person with His presence and love. Since we have been created in the image of God, the same applies to us: we love to be praised and thanked.

Thanksgiving is more than an American holiday in November. For the follower of Christ, thanksgiving is a discipline.

Consider the powerful words of Psalm 50:23—“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”

When we bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, we prepare the way for Him to do great things in our lives.

It works the same way within the marriage relationship. It is very easy to take our spouse for granted. We overlook his or her best qualities. We forget about the reasons we fell in love. Instead, we concentrate our attention on the negative parts of our spouse’s personality.

We criticize. We complain. We introduce discontentment into our homes, and this leads to discord and trouble.

How do we prevent this? By practicing gratitude year-round. We must discipline ourselves to be thankful.

Make it a priority this week—and the week after that, and the week after that—to praise your husband or wife. Tell your spouse what you love about him or her. Identify the talents and traits that mean the most to you.

Speak your gratitude. Say, “I am so thankful that I’m married to you. You mean the world to me.” Compliment your spouse every chance you get. Show your gratitude by serving, loving, and sacrificing on behalf of your relationship.

A heart of gratitude invites God’s presence into your marriage and paves the way for Him to do great things.

Happy Thanksgiving from the team at MarriageToday. We are thankful for you!