“It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the harp and lute and the harmony of the lyre. You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.” Psalm 92:1-4 (NLT)
This past week one of my parishioners told me he was happy that our church emphasized Thanksgiving. “Generally,” he said, “everyone focuses on Halloween and Christmas ignoring Thanksgiving in between.” This “holiday” has so much competition that sometimes real gratitude gets lost in the shuffle. Prosperity, family celebrations, and the good life tend to lessen the emphasis of giving thanks. But the historical emphasis of Thanksgiving comes out of adversity and difficult times.
Our greatest expressions for giving thanks have usually occurred after circumstances so debilitating one wonders why there was gratitude instead of bitterness. An unknown author wrote, “It would be wonderful if we could forget our troubles as quickly as we forget our blessings.” Perhaps this unknown author has discovered the issue. Our troubles and sorrows sometimes overwhelm us so much that we forget to be thankful for all our blessings.
A good attitude, though, is to give thanks in the morning and in the evening. Such a routine of gratitude will insure that our blessings overwhelm our troubles and sorrows. Henry Ward Beecher wrote something along these lines, “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; But the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing.” It is truly amazing how a joyful song about God’s blessings will change our attitude. A good attitude is an attitude of gratitude!
Dear Father thank you for your blessings on us. Empower our attitudes with gratitude. Help us entrust our troubles to you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. AMEN
Be encouraged today with an attitude of gratitude,