O taste and see that the Lord is good:
blessed is the man that trusts in Him.
Psalm 34:8
On this Thanksgiving weekend our thoughts are on family, those around our tables as well as those far away. I have thought about the benefits of giving thanks, believing that thankfulness turns our hearts to God and acknowledges our dependence on Him. Thankfulness shows we trust Him. A thankful heart strengthens our hope for the future and helps us bear the hard things. A thankful heart improves our well being on every level.
On our maiden cruise ship voyage we could not get over how wonderful everything was, when one morning we shared our breakfast table with a disgruntled guest. We tried to start a friendly conversation with her, but her discontentment about most things came through loud and clear. When we told her that we loved the food, she slowly and maturely told us, "Well, ya see honay, ya don't got notin' to compare it to ... but ... in actuality ... it really ain't good."
Her words haunted me with a certain sadness, because they can be true to life for any one of us. We lose our sense of wonder. We get so accustomed to good things that we begin to compare or focus on wanting more. We can easily forget that what we have is really quite wonderful.
A very long time ago, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome, explaining why God’s wrath was being revealed against the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth. He went on to say, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him, nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1: 21) It looks very much like the downward spiral in their quality of life began with ungratefulness. It's not that they did not know God, they just took him for granted.
May our thankful hearts be a covering and blessing to the next generation to do the same.
From all of us here at MGCC
we thank you for your visits and
we thank you for your visits and
we wish you a blessed Thanksgiving!
Anneliese, thank you for reminding us today of what it looks like to be thankful with a grateful heart instead of seeing things through critical eyes.
ReplyDelete"An attitude of gratitude" can change how we see life. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this sweet reminder...... It definitely brings the message home.
ReplyDeleteGod is so faithful, even when we sometimes are not.
This post meant the world to me, and I read it as just the appropriate time. Thanks for the gentle reminder. You Ladies take such good care of us - thank you Anneliese!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for this message - it is right on point! I have been working hard on giving myself an attitude adjustment when I get upset about the little things, because I have so many BIG things for which I should be grateful. I recently read another blog post that pointed out "giving thanks is the other side of prayer", so now I try to spend as much time enumerating my thanks as I do asking for intercessions! Have a blessed week!
ReplyDeleteYou will be blessed in doing that! Keeping a list side by side (praise and prayer) is so encouraging because then you add the checked off prayer requests and you have that and the thankful list and it doubles if you know what I mean! Thank you for encouraging me too!
DeleteAnd I am Thankful for "Bread for the Journey"
ReplyDelete