Now is the time for……Gratitude

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

One of my lasting childhood memories is of receiving a 5 shilling note in a birthday card every year from my great aunt in England. It was regular every year and it was fun to receive it. The only drawback was that every year I had to sit down and write a thank you letter; just like I had to write letters to my grandmother. The letters always started like this….. “Dear Auntie and Uncle, I hope you are well as I am at present…”, I would thank them for the gift and then try, with my mother’s help, to write something meaningful and finally, with great relief I would sign off. It was always a chore. As I look back I am thankful for the discipline of learning to say thank you, but I am sad that I found it such a chore. I am sure my Auntie didn’t find it a chore to remember me. Now I love writing thank you notes!

One of the disciplines of my spiritual life is to be thankful. God’s word tells us that we should be thankful. I believe it is good for us to be thankful to God because it makes us mindful of all his many blessings to us. It is not a chore for God to bless us, he is a loving Father, and it is his great delight to bless us with every good and perfect gift.

It cost my aunt time, energy and money to send me that gift every year on my birthday. It was only right that I thank her. It cost God so much more to bless us with salvation through the gift of his son, Jesus Christ. Do you thank him for that? He is always ready and waiting to hear our prayers? Do you thank him for that? He is always more than willing to generously give wisdom when we ask? Do you thank him for that? The list could go on but you get the picture.

Having a thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude is something to be prized. We can be thankful for the good things that come our way, but can we also be thankful when things go wrong, when we don’t get our own way? This is the test of a trusting grateful heart. Our verse today says “In everything…”, it doesn’t say ‘for everything’. There is quite a difference. Unpleasant, even downright awful, things may come our way. We don’t need to be thankful for them, but we can be thankful that in everything that comes, God is there for us to strengthen us, help us and guide us through. Our character is most tested and developed in the tough times, we need them so let’s be thankful for the tests and trust God to bring us safely through them.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have done for me in showing your love by sending Jesus Christ to die for me. Thank you that though life situations may change and become unstable, you are the strong, unshakeable foundation of my life; you are always there for me. Amen