“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject whatever is harmful.
May God himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 TNIV
These verses are often taught during this season of the year. These matters are commandments in the Christian life. As we live in Him, there are always choices. Just as we choose Him to be our Savior and entered into the life of His expression, so too as we learn, He continually leads us into the best choices.
To be thankful is an attitude of mind that will set us free and guard our minds of much that plagues our Christian world. When we choose thankfulness, it will be impossible to “suck our own thumb” in self-pity. Thankfulness immediately has a response in us. When we enter genuine thankfulness, then our hearts come up and we are able to think much more clearly. One of the problems of self-pity is as we engage in it our thoughts get trapped in a self-focused world that has problems truly seeing what is real and what is not. When everything is overshadowed with my self-pity filters, then my thoughts get muddled and my attitude then is determined by my circumstances. Thankfulness is a road to healing in such times. David expressed this in Psalm 42:11 TNIV (as well as in other Psalms)
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
So Beloved Reader, let us begin to give thanks and allow it to permeate our thought patterns. Life will be better for it. Go for it!
Have a Marvelous Blessed Thanksgiving!
Mannaword 