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Living a Life of Thanksgiving
1
Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks
in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus”.
Edward Spencer was a ministerial student in Evanston,
Illinois, and also a member of a life-saving squad during his school
years. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near
Evanston, and Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to
rescue seventeen passengers. In the process, his health was permanently
damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of
the people he rescued ever bothered to thank him.
G.K. Chesterton called gratitude ''the mother of all virtues''. One of
the most significant changes that Jesus Christ wants to make in our
hearts and lives is to transform us into people who are continually
grateful. Especially as believers, we need to be aware that gratitude
opens up our lives for God’s will to be done in and through us.
Real gratitude is not just a feeling you experience when something good
happens to you or someone does something nice. Real gratitude is a
response or an action that demonstrates just how thankful we really are.
The scripture reminds us over and again to give thanks to God and be
grateful for all the many benefits and blessings He bestows on us. It is
not just feeling grateful, but it is being grateful. Not just feeling it,
but showing it.
On September 16, 1620, 102 passengers boarded a ship called the Mayflower
with the hope of finding religious freedom where they would be free to
worship God. After a 65 day voyage across the storm-tossed Atlantic the
Pilgrims landed in Provincetown Massachusetts on November 21st. By the
time spring came, almost half of the people had died from poor nutrition
and sicknesses. But despite the trials they endured, in September of
1621, the Pilgrims and colonists met together to give thanks for a
bountiful harvest and for the preservation of their lives.
Thanksgiving is the act of expressing gratitude for a favor or kindness
which has been shown to us. According to 1Thessalonians 5: 18 we are to
give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God. We are to give
thanks to God for everything in our life including sitting down, rising
up, sleeping, waking, breathing, seeing, hearing, feelings, having a job
or without a job, rich or poor, failure or success, good or bad, happy or
sad, etc. Failing to give thanks for everything is equal to violating the
will of God.
It's good to be thankful on the fourth Thursday of November each year but
it's even better to live a life of thanksgiving. Gratitude should be a
24/7 attitude; not just on the fourth Thursday in November. There are ten
thousand and more reasons for which we ought to be thankful for. God
wants us to respond to Him in ways that demonstrate our deep gratitude
for what He has done for us and given to us.
PRAYER
Gracious Lord, help us to live each minute
with a sense of gratitude for all the blessings that we have received and
yet to receive. Amen
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY
Being thankful is a door through which God can
lead us to experience His perfect will. Without it, we will miss what God
has in store for us.
Christian
Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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