Being Thankful in All Things
The past year has brought extra pressures on us all. For many of us we have had to learn to live with less. This challenged has positioned us at the crossroad between thankfulness and murmuring. On one hand you might feel justified to complain about all the things you don’t have and how life has dealt you an unfair blow. On the other hand, you can also choose to look at all the things that God has allowed you to have and be overwhelmed with a sense of thankfulness. The choice is really in our hands.
Paul the Apostle sums it up in Philippians when he says, “ I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.“ The Message : The Bible in contemporary language (Php 4:11-13).
I heard a great story that gripped my heart and reminded me once again to be thankful for all the wonderful blessings that God has poured into my life and even if I have a little less, to be sure to have some margin to pass it on to others.
A harried waitress approached the table where a young girl was sitting by herself. She quickly asked the girl what she wanted. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” the little girl inquired. The waitress snapped, “A dollar seventy-five.” The girl looked at her fistful of change and then asked, “How much is a dish of just plain ice cream?” “One-fifty,” retorted the waitress. “Then I’ll take the plain ice cream, please,” said the young customer. The waitress returned with the bowl of ice cream but delivered it in rude silence. After the little girl finished her ice cream and left, the waitress went to clean off the table. To her shame, she found two dimes and five pennies. Her tip was the exact amount the little girl needed to get a sundae rather than just plain ice cream. In each of our lives, others have made sacrifices for our well being. May we be grateful for even the smallest gesture of kindness we receive.
You might consider doing a little exercise to boost your thankful meter:
1. Make a list of all the things in your life that you are thankful for.
2. Take some time to pray and thank God for his provision on your life.
3. Ask him to forgive you of any attitude of ungratefulness toward him or any other person.
4. Let all your future needs in His hands.
Thanks Pastor Marc, It is so easy for us to see the glass as half empty but in reality we are more blessed than we realize. I am always trying to encourage and teach my son to see things the same way as he always complains about what he doesn’t have, but I tell him that he has so much more than most kids’ and he should be grateful. God is our source and our provider and He may not give us everything we want, but He gives us all that we need. Thanks and Glory be to God!!
I was posting 1000 things I am thankful for…something I found pinned on another blog and I came across this when I was looking for a picture to use. Such a wonderful article and a reminder to be thankful. We will use the exercises. Thank you for writing this!