Think to Thank

So often we go through our days, weeks, months and years without stopping to realize just how blessed we are. We care about and love those around us, we are grateful for what we have and our accomplishments, and we are certainly thankful for all that God provides but we often don't think about or take the time to verbalize our thankfulness to those we love. As Christians, we should make a point to be thankful in every situation. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus". How wonderful would it be to rejoice in everything, walking through our lives in a constant state of praying, and being thankful for even the bad times? Sometimes life is SO HARD that we find it difficult to be thankful, much less rejoice! I think that God knew we as humans would struggle with thankfulness and gratitude as they are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible and it is mentioned as a command over 33 times!

Here's the thing, thankfulness/gratitude is a choice. Colossians 3:15-17 admonishes us, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Even in the worst times, we can choose gratitude. Recently in the middle of a pity party for myself (and I don't have those often) God began bringing to my mind ALL that I have to be thankful for. What a glorious thought! As I began to give thanks, the blessing running through my mind more and more. My needs are met daily, I am blessed beyond with wonderful Christian community, my life is full of friends that encourage me in the Lord, my family has been blessed far more than most, I could go on and on but I'll just say that if I began writing all my blessings, I'm not if the paper or pen would run out first but I certainly wouldn't run out of things to be thankful for! In everything there is something to be thankful for. For goodness sake, Paul wrote Colossians, that same passage that you just read from a prison cell for proclaiming Christ- we are SO BLESSED!

When we lived in Germany, we went to a huge Pumpkin Festival. It was like a dream! There was pumpkin EVERYTHING! Displays made from pumpkins, pumpkin ketchup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin drinks, pumpkin carvings and so much more. I remember standing in the middle of the festivities overwhelmed with the culture adjustment, the colors of fall in Germany, the overflowing pumpkins and just realizing that this was an opportunity that I had never dreamed would happen. God's goodness and blessings just for me! In that moment, I whispered of thanksgiving and praise for His love, provision and goodness. Did I miss my family, absolutely but was God providing everything I needed and more- ABSOLUTELY! Just one day of many that I was made aware that in everything there was something wonderful from God to be thankful for.

Romans 8:28 is a scripture that we would all do well to memorize. We are blessed to have the promise from God that, "...we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Not only comfort comes from this verse but also another reason to be thankful- God works ALL things for good for His children! God's promises to us are too many to count and that alone should give us reason to stop and "think to thank" Him. Take a minute today to jot down all that you have to be thankful for. These may be thoughts of everyday life, promises from God's Word, thankfulness for things yet to come or other ideas. Hang this in a place that you can see often, take a photo of it and put on your phone, place it in your Bible and determine now to "Think to Thank" daily as we end 2025 and head towards 2026.

Luke 17:15-16 shows us a beautiful picture of one out of ten lepers returning to give thanks to God after being healed. It says, "Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan." Notice that this healed leper had to "turn back" to praise God. Sweet sister, if you have not been in the habit of having gratitude, or thanking God verbally begin today. It is never too late. As you praise God, He will bless you. My challenge to you during this Thanksgiving season is this: Think to Thank. Yes, grab your pen, paper and quite area and begin to list your greatest blessings and praise during 2025. You may find yourself as the leper did, "falling on your face giving Him thanks." And as you are writing, try jotting down, "Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" and you will not only being memorizing three Bible verses, but you will also be hiding God's Word in your heart for those "not so good" days when you need encouragement from His Word to uplift you. You'll find yourself giving thanks and having gratitude more and more.

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