In Everything Give Thanks
I remember the scene so well. It was in the late 1970's. About 7 A.M. I was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway towards Santa Monica where I worked each week day. Looking out on the ocean on this beautiful morning, how could I not feel in a great mood? And yet I had a grumbling spirit. Focusing on what was wrong with my life, and overlooking all the blessings.
Then it happened. It seemed the Spirit of God convicted me that I was dwelling on the negative and not living in a spirit of thankfulness. I suddenly changed gears in my mind. And for the remaining 45 minutes of my commute to work I thanked God for all the blessings He had brought in my life. By the time I arrived at the General Telephone office, I still had more things for which to thank the Lord for. It was a transforming moment!
This morning I read a prayer letter that my dear friend, Bryan Gibbs, sent to me at the first of this year. It's a Monday - Friday intercessory prayer guide, where Bryan asked for God's intervention in his work and family life. Today's focus is thanking the Lord. And he lists this verse:
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -- 1 Thess. 5:18
All right. Let's be realistic. Not everything is going just fine in each of our lives. And yet I also know that there are so many things to praise the Lord for in every one of our present situations.
I must confess that I have a sinful tendency in too often focusing on what' s not quite right with my life and remain blind to all the great things the Lord has brought in my life.
So, I repent. And ask God to forgive me. And plead with the Holy Spirit to bring to mind all the things for which I can thank my Savior. Especially the blessings that I have as His adopted son (read Eph. 1:3-14 to claim once more these tremendous blessings we have in Jesus Christ. Wow!)
It's clear from the Thessalonians passage that thanking God in everything "is His will for you in Christ Jesus." It just hit me -- being a grateful person is an act of obedience to our King!
I want you to try something today: Focus on thanksgiving. Praise the Lord in all our circumstances. What we might do is every time a thanksgiving comes to mind, we write it down. And then share with us fellow bloggers what God brought to your heart and how He changed you as you dwelled on the blessings He has showered on you.
Longing for a more grateful heart,
Jim
posted by Jim Clark @ 8:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I'm so glad you came up with this Jim. I've been thinking about it for some time now - that we're to be thankful in all things. Sometimes we need to conscioulsy concentrate on being thankful when life is good, too, because then we can forget it could be the other way around and we may be taking it for granted. Wierd, I know. In ALL things be thankful.
Jim-
I've got a real doozy to share.
This weekend we drove to OKC to meet up with my daughter and her husband. My daughter, Laura, has always lived life on the edge, very strongly affected by her friends. She would sometimes try things just because they were not allowed. She made some really bad choices and walked away from us and the Lord in a lot of ways. Three years ago she was dating a man who wouldn't let her come visit us because he was afraid of me. (One might ask if this was justified, but...) He knew I didn't approve of his lifestyle.
She had a near-disastrous run-in with a semi truck and was saved outright by the hand of God. I was driving ahead of her at the time, and there was no way I could see she could have escaped death. God had something planned for her, and I told her so. She began to think about her life, and returned to the Lord. I am rejoicing because she was lost, and now she is found.
Last July, she married Matt, a fine Christian man with a tender heart, who loves her very much. Sometime in mid-July they are expecting the birth of a little girl.
When Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son, he spoke to me...right where I live. I've got so much to be thankful for just with Laura and Matt that I need a calculator to count that high. And to the parents who haven't lost a child to the world, I would say go and hug them and tell them how glad you are for their faith, their steadfastness, and their love.
Sometimes just hearing that could make a difference, I think.
Thanks, Candy and G'ampa c. What a wonderful testimony about God's grace and protection in Laura's life, G-ampa C! The Lord is so good!
Jim
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