Let’s take on a challenge together – to be thankful! Put a daily reminder in your phone, post a note on your fridge. This week practice real gratitude. That sounds simple, but if you listen to your words and those of the people around you, you will discover how much time we spend being anything but grateful. If there is one ugly part of being American, it is that sense of entitlement that makes us think that life owes us a favor. Challenge – be thankful!
Start with the Lord! At the very beginning of the day
offer a specific prayer of thanks; for someone, something, for Jesus, for
eternal life, for life, for the hope of a new day. Do more than - ‘thank
you, God.’ Psalm 136 is a good
template if you need a way to get started. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His
faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1
(NLT)
Continue with people you meet! Express your thanks to that woman at the coffee
counter, with a smile. Tell your spouse they are appreciated. Write a note to
your friend and say “thank you” in a meaningful way. Make it personal!
Genuine thankfulness enriches those who practice it. Gratitude grows faith that makes us pray with expectation. When we are wrapped up in Self, when we complain and criticize too much, we lose sight of what God can do. We do not take the provisions that our Father makes available to us because we become consumed with the desire to live life on my own terms.
Real gratitude is enriching to others. Who does not feel encouraged when someone reminds us of our value to them, or of some way in which we have made life better for them?
God’s will is that we are thankful. The Word simply says- “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)
10 men approached Jesus because they were in a desperate situation. They were ‘lepers.’ Because of their disease, they were required to live in isolation from friends and family, surviving by begging. They were generally despised because most people thought they had leprosy because had done something deserving of God’s judgment! To be a leper at that time was a kind of living death!
These men heard about Jesus’ healing work and when they saw him, they yelled “Have mercy on us!” He directed them to an act of faith. “Go show yourself to the priest.” If a person’s skin issue cleared up, the priest could certify that and allow them to return to society.
"And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:14-17, NIV) The tragic part of that story is that just one even thought to go back to Jesus and express his gratitude. Luke includes the detail that the grateful one was another kind of social outcast, a Samaritan; not a ‘true child of God’ in the opinion of the majority.
The Bible obscures his true reaction with a dry phrase saying that he was ‘praising God in a loud voice.’ He was yelling, pointing at his new skin, jumping up and down, and crying. He didn’t kneel reverently when he found Jesus. He threw himself at His feet in an expression of complete humility, realizing he deserved nothing and received everything.
Does the Lord Who gives life and grace to you,
Who has made you part of His eternal family,
Who has fully paid for your deliverance from death,
find Himself looking at a person who, like the nine of Luke’s story, has
forgotten the Source of those blessings? Do you remember to give thanks?
Ready to take the GRATITUDE challenge? Make those reminders and start to give thanks. Take a cue from Paul about how to become grateful. We start by becoming totally Jesus focused. "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:12-13, NIV)
Here’s a word from the Word, an ancient song sung by those who recalled the Lord’s mercies in restoring His people to their land and faith after a long time in captivity. Make it your song today.
"When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it
was like a dream!
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said,
“What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
What joy!
Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert.
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the
harvest."
(Psalm 126, NLT)
Don’t be one of the 9 who forgot their Source!
Be the 1 who was thankful!
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