Thankfulness

Thankfulness

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.”

Psalm 9:1-2 (NIV)

Thankfulness…there is nothing sweeter than having a heart full of gratefulness for all of God’s many blessings in our lives. I know I wake up every morning and just simply thank God for the gift of life. And then I move on and thank Him for the love of my family and for all of the wonderful gifts that He has so graciously blessed me with throughout my life.

I know that I am and have nothing without Him and I embrace each day with that knowledge.

I love the Lord and even if He didn’t bless me with another thing, I would still praise Him because of who He is in my life. He is my El Shaddai, my Jehovah Shalom, my Jehovah Jireh, my Jehovah Nissi, and my Jehovah Rapha. He is my Savior, my All in All, and I thank Him continuously throughout my day because He is just so good to me. I love Him; I adore Him and I praise Him in every way and in everything that comes my way.

But let me be real here that last part…in everything that comes my way gratitude came after many years soldiering in my Christian journey for me to grasp.

It’s easy to be thankful when everything is going your way, but the real spirit of gratitude is conveyed when you are thankful in the face of the storm. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul wrote that we should be thankful in all circumstances because that is God’s will for our lives. And as I have gotten older and more mature in my walk with Christ, I have come to realize that just by having a heart filled full of gratefulness seems to make whatever I may face seem just that much better.

Let me be clear here, it doesn’t mean that I don’t experience trials or tribulations, because none of us are exempt from those. Trouble and hard times knock on all of our doors…mine included. It just means that I have learned to thank God where I am at and I praise Him there.

The Word of God instructs us in Hebrew 13:15 that we should constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name, those are words to live by and I do.

God is good; He really is and recognizing that and honoring Him with praises of thanksgiving is what we all should do as His children. Also, when we thank God for what He has done or will do it serves as a reminder of just how far He has brought us in our lives. For example, I remember a time, just recently in fact, when I was going through a health issue and it had me concerned (…well worried was more like it), but then I started to remember how God brought me through a different health issue and everything turned out perfectly. So, then, I started to thank Him for healing me that time and for healing me again this time and I felt so good. The anxiety left me and I was at peace.

When you are in a spirit of thankfulness and praise and are actively engaging in them, you don’t have time to worry; and I know for myself, I would much rather spend my time thanking God for all that He has done in my life than worry.  How about you?

Father God, You are so good to me. You really are and I lift my hands up to You to thank You for all that You are, and for all that You have done and will continue to do in my life. I love You. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen

 

-Nina Fortson