Gratitude

Download

This coming Thursday, our nation celebrates the great tradition of Thanksgiving as a special Holyday. Families get together to share a meal and to give thanks. Unfortunately, even this special day has been commercialized and sometimes loses its meaning. For some, it is the beginning of the shopping season; for others it is a time to eat and to watch their favorite football game.

The actual purpose of the Holyday should be to stop and to thank God for all His blessings. It is a time to recount and to remember every detail of His love and grace toward us. Thanking God should not be only a yearly event. Instead, we need to thank God for His goodness in our lives on a daily basis. A grateful heart expresses gratitude in and for all the details of Gods creation. For example, people sometimes complain because they've lost someone or something very precious to them. They tend to forget all the time which they had these people or things in their lives. For example, my mother passed away at the age of 74. In my grieving, I asked God why He had taken her away. But years after her death, I realized how merciful God had been to me. You see, my mom suffered from all kinds of ailments and yet she did not take care of herself. She refused to take her medicine and to follow the dietary plan given to her by her doctor. Her condition happened early in her life, and God had already extended her lifetime beyond normal medical standards. Therefore, I learned to thank God for the time that she was around me instead of complaining about her departure.

For those of us who have family, friends and good things in life, we need to learn to appreciate them and to thank God for allowing us to have them. We never know when someone or something may be taken away from us because of natural or unexpected causes. Lets learn to be thankful for everything from the smallest detail of hearing a bird sing to the amazement of watching a beautiful sunset. Those are gifts from God. He created the universe with us in mind; He has also provided the special gift of eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Would you open your heart in gratitude and receive this gift? Would you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that He is your Lord and Savior? This is the time for you to be thankful and to give the rest of your years on earth to His service as an act of gratitude.

"Giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20