With Thanksgiving fast approaching this week, it seems an attitude of thankfulness is all around. I've seen so many posts on facebook since the start of November, all declaring some they are thankful for on each day of the month. I love it!
I have lots to be thankful for in my own life. It goes without saying, I am very thankful for my family...for my boys...my amazing husband. I'm thankful for my job I'm thankful for my friends. Not just my friends....I'm thankful for my God fearing, Jesus loving, power praying friends in my life. I'm thankful for a beautiful and amazing church family. I'm thankful for freedom. I'm thankful for the little things in life too/ You know, things like....cool breezes on a hot summer day....breathtaking fall colors as the seasons change...drenching spring rains that cause dead and dried up things to live again...a baby's giggle....a chids smile. And lets not forget the things like.....warm, gooey brownies and a cold glass of milk....reese cups of any kind...and chocolate. Yes, I'm really thankful for chocolate.
While all of these things are great and good, I'm thankful for other things that go above and beyond all of this. I'm thankful that circumstances of my life allow me to experience God in different ways. I'm thankful that God loves me enough to give me the opportunity to find Him in the most unexpected places. I'm thankful that I've come to know God in new ways recently, like Healer, Defender, and Daddy. I'm thankful that even when I'm most unlovable in myself, He still loves me just the same. I'm thankful that He is unchanging. I'm thankful that He is never ending. I'm thankful that He operates in redemption. I'm thankful that He gives me more grace than I deserve. I'm thankful that His mercies are new every morning. I'm thankful He pursued me and drew me to Himself, and in my search for Him, He adopted me and brought me into His eternal family. I'm thankful for Jesus and the sacrifice He made on my behalf.
Max Lucado says, "worship is the THANK YOU that cannot be silenced." Do you know what I have just done by declaring my thankful heart? I've just experienced worship. Do you know why? Because anytime I start reflecting on Who God is, or What He's done for me, it inspires worship within my heart. I begin to become full of praises because of how good He has been to me. I enter into a private moment with Him, where my heart is consumed with passion for Him....where my gaze is completely occupied with His gaze. When I begin to thank Him, I begin to worship. And as I worship, my heart is changed.
I wonder, what would our lives look like if we walked in a state of thankfulness? What if we walked in a place of "I don't care what my circumstances are or situation I find myself in, I will thank my God continually" way of life? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to "be thankful in ALL circumstances." That doesn't mean we thank God only when life is good. No, quite the contrary. It means we thank Him even when we are in battle. It means we thank Him even when life is hard. It means we thank Him even when our circumstances don't give us a reason to be thankful. It means we thank Him in ALL things. Remember, thanking Him becomes worship, and when we worship our perspective changes. And when our perspective changes, we walk in freedom. Freedom from being bound by things of this world, whether they be emotions or material. Our gaze is redirected to His gaze through our worship and we begin to lay aside every weight and anything that trips us up or hinders us from walking along the paths of righteousness with Him.
And to think, it all starts with a thankful heart. So,as Thanksgiving approaches, find some time to just sit with Him. And as you are there, begin to meditate and speak out all that you are thankful for from Father. Remember His goodness. Remember His faithfulness. And allow your grateful heart to turn into a moment of worship. Then develop a thankful heart within you and allow it turn your life into a life that sweetly becomes one who lives life on your knees in a state of worship. A life found competely and totally immersed, and hidden in Him.
Let's live thankfully...
Stacy
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