We have this popular saying, “Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.” You can find it on pillows, candles, wall decor and everything in between.
But what does it mean to be thankful, grateful and blessed?
Thankful is defined as “expressing gratitude or appreciation”.
Grateful is defined as “feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful.”
Blessed is defined as “made holy; consecrated.”
Many of us enjoy the warm, fuzzy feeling of saying it or even having items that say it. However, do our actions and words reflect that we are BELIEVING we ARE thankful, grateful, and blessed?
We hear many say how thankful we are for our family, but with the next breath we only complain about them. We can tear them down repeatedly with our words and actions , but then once a year around the holidays say how thankful we are for them.
We say we are grateful for what we have, yet all we do is strive for more.
I am not saying that if you work for something better it is a bad thing. Nor am I saying that we should not want something nice. But what does your heart look like behind closed doors? Do your words build others up more than they are tearing them down? Are your actions showing that you are thankful for those around you; family and friends? What about in your heart for God?
Dissatisfaction comes when our attention shifts from what we have to what we don’t have. Are we grateful for what God has given us, or are we always thinking about what we would like to have?
Psalms 136:1 states, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
If you are a Christ follower, do you give thanks for who He is or do you just give thanks when He “does” for you?
Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
What occupies our attention most of the time?
Are we thanking him for who He is instead of only bringing our “grocery list” of requests? Do we allow our anxious thoughts to dictate when or if we can pray?
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 states, “pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Do you pray, like REALLY pray? Do you thank God for those hard days, the tough trials, the annoying coworkers, the tantrum-throwing toddlers, or when walking through an unwanted diagnosis? How is your heart when your circumstances don’t look the way you hoped they would or when you got passed over for that promotion?
We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget God‘s gift of life, food, health, work, family, and friends.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
By GRACE….. it is not given by what you have done, but because of who He is!!
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
But the chapter didn’t stop there!! It goes on to say, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
God sent his one and only son because of His LOVE for you and me!
If God never did anything else for you, other than offer the gift of salvation, would that be enough for you? Would you still be thankful?
Let’s remember who God says He is and what He has already done for us!
Let’s learn to be a people that is outwardly and continuously thankful, truly grateful for what we have and blessed to bless others!