Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s my hope you’re having a great time with family, friends, awesome food and some football games. This is a perfect time to connect with those we love and have a few days to rest, while recounting the reasons to be thankful. It’s good to slow down just a bit, and consider all that’s happened in the last year. This gives us perspective of how God has been faithful and how He’s remained true to His promise for our lives. There’s no doubt, that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever.
Therefore, being Thankful is more than a holiday, it’s a lifestyle!
Beyond the turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and more, is a powerful truth that can lead us into joy and peace. What’s powerful about this is, we choose to do it. God gives you and I the ability to be Thankful or to not be Thankful. He’s not going to make us do anything, but rather He leads us into everything. This is huge for us to know because the devil is a task master seeking to control. God is our shepherd, seeking to lead us. Notice, one is power and control, and the other is leading a willing partnership. Because of this, it’s up to us to be Thankful! It’s up to us to choose this as our lifestyle. When this happens, the lid comes off and our faith grows, our attitude gets healthy, and our spirit is strengthened.
So what happens when you are Thankful?
“Enter His gates with Thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.”
Psalms 100:4
Notice we enter His presence through Thanksgiving. It’s the front door we go through, so it’s huge; therefore, what happens in His presence?
“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
Psalms 16:11
So in His presence is joy and the pleasures of living with God. So if Thanksgiving is the front door we go through, it’s monumental in our faith. It’s the first step in being in God’s presence and having His joy, peace, power, love, sound mind and more. All the things we yearn for are in His presence, which means Thanksgiving has to be a part of our daily lives. Maybe this is why we’re tempted to not be Thankful, because the enemy knows when we choose this, God shows up.
One of our greatest temptations is to only see what isn’t happening or what didn’t work out, thus we overlook the things God has done. In fact, it’s easy to receive an answer to prayer and not even stop and celebrate it. Many times we move on to the next prayer request without saying thank you for the one He just answered. When we live this way with God and others, we can be ungrateful which can lead us to being resentful. This happens way too much in the lives of Christ followers and it leads to wrong attitudes and perspective. But when I’m Thankful, watch what happens.
When I’m Thankful, I’m not jealous. When I’m Thankful, I’m not comparing. When I’m Thankful, I’m not selfish. When I’m Thankful, I’m not ungrateful. When I’m Thankful, I’m not negative. When I’m Thankful, I’m not impatient. When I’m Thankful, I’m not short-sided. When I’m Thankful, I’m more like Christ. This is what happens when you are Thankful!
Notice how it empowers us to be like Jesus and how it helps us overcome ourselves. So we can see that this is more than a Turkey dinner, family gathering or a football game. It’s a lifestyle and it brings us into His presence and changes everything in our lives. That’s right, it changes everything in our lives!
What are you Thankful for today?
I encourage you to take a little time out of your day and write a Thank You list to God. Give Him the glory for what He’s done and when you do, your faith will be stirred as you remember what He has done. Even if you’re facing a tuff time or moment, give Him Thanks and remember what He has done. Remember that He has come through for you. Remember that He has won the victory for you and that He’s never let you down. Determine your mind to focus on what the Lord has done and watch your perspective change.
This is what happens when you are Thankful!
Move forward today. Live a life of Thanksgiving and give Him all the thanks you got. Because like the old song says, “He’s done so much for us, we can cannot tell it all!?
Happy Thanksgiving and the best is yet to come,
PD
