Happy Thanksgiving!
This morning we have a blog that was written last year around the same time. In reading, we found ourselves contemplating the hard things the Lord has walked us through in 2021, while also remembering how faithful He was in 2020. Perhaps this year has been a struggle for you as well. If so, read below because the weapon of a thankful heart is one the enemy cannot stand against.
We are praying you are encouraged by this today, and every day, with the reminder to thank the Lord and praise Him for the many blessings in our lives. Even in the difficult and painful, God is good and we can praise Him.
Blessings,
Jacqueline & Meaghan
“Father I thank you and praise you for who you are…”
This is how one of my friends always begins her prayers. She lets these words roll off her tongue as easily as if she was having a simple conversation. Her prayers are then saturated in thankfulness, to the point where thirty minutes later she is still thanking and praising God.
Now, I know this woman. I know about some of the difficult things going on in her life—and yet she is still thankful. Simply listening to her pray has reminded me of one of the greatest tools at our fingertips.
The Power of Thankful Heart.
As we enter into this season of Thanksgiving, there is much that can be discussed and griped about. Politics, masks, no masks, vaccines, elections, culture wars, arguments with family members, bitterness toward situations …and the list goes on.
BUT … what if we stopped all of that for a moment?
What if rather than dwelling in frustration we set all of it aside and spent time saying “Thank You.”
Those two words are so powerful and have the ability to change hearts and lives.
A few years ago, I remember hearing or reading the following phrase, “If you woke up tomorrow with only what you thanked God for today, what would you have?”
Read that again and let it hit you.
I think I would maybe wake up with only the breath in my lungs, if that. No home, no bed, no family, no friends, no hot water … and the list goes on.
Thankfully our God doesn’t take away that which we don’t thank Him for. Instead, He has richly given us what only His Spirit can bring. Through receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior we have His Spirit, and through His Spirit we can walk rooted in Him, trusting Him with all of our lives. How then can I not be thankful?
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. – Colossians 2:6-7
2020 has been interesting. The kind of year that shakes the very foundations of those things that we thought were solid. For me, it has shown me that nothing, nothing, can compare to the love of Christ. That all this world has will fall away, but His Word will never end.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
– Isaiah 40:8
I don’t know what 2020 has been like for you. Perhaps you have experienced the unexpected loss of a loved one, maybe it’s been a frustrating time with politics, maybe you feel helpless, or even hopeless, and I know many feel lonely. But for today, and each day moving forward, I pray we would take a moment to thank the Lord for His goodness. For even in unexpected loss, He walks with us. When the world seems to be lost, He still guides and gives wisdom. In the moments when I feel helpless, His Spirit leads me to prayer. When all seems hopeless, His Word comforts me with promises of powerful hope. And when I am lonely, He is there beside me.
That, my friends, is worth being thankful for. So for today, thank Him.
Sit in the quiet and say “Thank You.” You can say those words over and over again with your eyes closed, or even start looking around your house and thanking Him for people and things as they come to mind. Maybe it would be easier to sit down and make a list, go through it one by one with a grateful heart.
No, I don’t know what you’re walking through. It might be harder than anything you’ve ever been through before—and you may not understand it, but I’ve found power in saying thank you anyway.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. –1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Now go ahead … thank Him.
