A Thanksgiving Life
Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Throughout Scriptures God instructs his people to be thankful & to give thanks. All of the feast days the Israelites have celebrated have been put into place by God so the people could use the occasion to give thanks for all that the Lord has done for them. Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving for over 400 years. When the first settlers came over on the Mayflower, over half their company died the first winter, but in the spring & summer they had a great crop & declared 3 days of Thanksgiving celebration so they could publicly demonstrate & declare their thanksgiving to God for His great provision. Throughout our short history as a nation, Americans have always seen God’s hand of provision & protection on our nation.
In the verse above, God commands his people to always be joyful, pray continually & to give thanks in all our circumstances. God desires for His people to be thankful regardless of our circumstances. Anybody can be thankful when everything is going good, but only God’s people can be thankful even in the midst of trying circumstances. When we are thankful in trying circumstances, we are declaring our trust & confidence in God. This pleases Him.
We set aside one day that we declare a national day of Thanksgiving, but the truth is, we as Christians, should live a life that is thankful everyday of every year! Whether things are going good or even if we are living in trying circumstances, we should be thankful. I challenge you to make a list of things you are thankful for & begin to thank God for them everyday. You will soon see that you are so busy thanking God for all your blessings, that you won’t have time to dwell on the negative things or the things you don’t have. Let’s purpose in our hearts to be thankful in all our circumstances & our attitudes will soon be a pleasing aroma to our Lord!
Consumed by the call,
Pastor Marty
