The Spirit of the Season

Webster’s Online Dictionary defines gratitude as the state of being grateful; thankfulness.  It goes on to list the following synonyms:

• Appreciation
• Appreciativeness
• Thanks
• Thankfulness

These are all words we should get a better grasp of in our daily lives, and even more so if we are Christians.  Blessings truly do abound when we take a look around us.

In our church the minister has been doing a powerful series of lessons on thankfulness as we lead up to this Thursday’s holiday.  The point however is not to build up the idea of gratitude and containing to this one day and the days surrounding it, but rather to instill in us a spirit of gratitude at all times.

Many of us would recognize the biblical principle found in I Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing”.  However we often forget how this is bookended by two other short verses that really speak to the idea of gratitude.

Rejoice always,

Pray without ceasing,

In everything give thanks.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Too often we get caught up with moaning and groaning about what we don’t have, or “missed out on” clearly violating the first of these three admonitions.  Then we fail to pray, not only by not having the constant spirit of prayer that is suggested, but with an improper mindset, forgetting to seek the Lord’s will and chasing after our own.  Which brings us to our third violation which is not being thankful for the things we have been blessed with.  The temptation in our fast paced world of instant gratification and consumerism is to want what we want and want it now, if not yesterday.  We forget that God’s timing does not always match with ours, and that perhaps the things we want could be bad for us, so He may be withholding them as a protection to us.

Now, with all that being said I would like to share with you a few of the things for which I am thankful and have been listing in my personal journal over recent weeks:

• A warm and loving wife who works hard, maybe too hard, for our family
• A faithful daughter who is bright and beautiful inside and out, and is on course to be a wonderful adult
• God’s daily provision of food, drink, shelter, clothing and medicines
• A great place to work surrounded by people with servant’s hearts
• Great communities in which to live, work, and serve
• The ability to see God in His creation all around us
• The gentle flow of rivers and streams and their calming power
• The Word of God that gives us direction
• The encouragement of others

I will say that I am not as consistent as I could be at writing in my journal, but each day that I do I have begun to write at least 3 things for which I am grateful.  This is a tremendous exercise to put us in the proper mindset to start the day.  Writers and speakers such as Zig Ziglar, Andy Andrews, and many others I am certain, have written and spoken about this as a way to gain the proper perspective, and I for one am a believer.

This week don’t go out and be thankful, just because there is a day that our country has set aside to be thankful.  I urge you to set a course where everyday is one filled with a thankful heart. I would love to see some short lists or items from some of you proclaiming your thankfulness.  Look around and find the blessings great and small that surround you in every way.  If you will, then you are very likely to Make Today Great!