To Encourage You

Colossians 3:15 “And be thankful.”

Are you wondering today what God’s will is for you?  You are one that really wants to glorify God and serve Him with your life.  Well, the verse above tells us clearly one very specific way that you and I can do this.  It is very simply to “be thankful.”  It’s an attitude of the heart that God desires of us.  Every good thing in our life is a gift from Him – so be thankful.  Do you have a home – be thankful.  Do you have a spouse who loves you and blesses you in many ways that you too easily take for granted?  Don’t just expect that from them – be thankful.  Has God given you children or grandchildren – be thankful.  What about friends?  Are you enjoying good health at this moment?  If not, have you experienced good health in the past, perhaps for many years?  Are your needs met – you have enough food, clothing, shelter, a means of transportation, money, etc.?  Do you live in a free country, with freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom to come and go as you please?  As Americans we have freedom to choose our leaders, and freedom to become a leader if we so choose.  Are we thankful for this?  Are we thankful for running water, a warm shower, a warm bed, a warm house on a cold day, and a sunny day when it comes?  Are we thankful for the beauty that surrounds us in the place where we live, and the blessings of vacationing in other places?  Are we thankful for our Bibles, written in our own language, that we are free to read and study together with others?  In many places in this world there is no such thing.  Are we thankful for the ability to see, hear, walk, taste, touch, and speak?  There are many in this world who don’t have all these gifts.  When we stop and just think about it, our lives are filled with things for which we can and should be thankful.

But how do we “be thankful?”  For one, it is an attitude.  To be thankful is the opposite of being dissatisfied, discontent, and ungrateful.  And if our attitude is truly thankful, it will come out in our actions and words. Thankful people are quick to show gratitude to others for the many blessings those people bring to their lives.  They are thankful for those who serve in the government, the military, their church, their place of work, and their home – and they say so.  When others ask them to do something or there is a need, they are quick to respond if they have the ability to do so, for they are thankful when others have done the same for them.  And a thankful person demonstrates that thankfulness above all to God, from Whom comes every blessing in their lives.  They bow their heads and thank God for their food when they eat. They spend much of their time in prayer thanking God and less time just asking Him for things.  They thank Him for the cross, for forgiveness, for His Word, for hope, for love, for joy, for peace, for physical life, and for eternal life.  They are even thankful for the trials in their life, be it difficult circumstances or difficult people, for they know that it is through such things that God is exposing areas in their lives where they need growth.

So what is God’s will for us?  It is simply to be thankful.  It is the thankful person, the one who lives a life of gratitude to God and to others that God has placed in their lives, that also loves.  And the commands to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves are not only the greatest commandments, but the summation of every other commandment God has ever given us (Matthew 22:37-40).  This is God’s will for us, and to achieve this never occurs unless we are thankful.