What in particular were you thankful for this holiday? Sometimes we feel as if we have nothing to give thanks for especially when life is not going the way we anticipated. How do you give thanks when your prayers seem to go unanswered? Why should I give thanks when I have no job, or I just lost a loved one?
As difficult as this may be I Thessalonians 5:18- has a different take on things- "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".
This is never an easy thing to do when we face those very challenging situations in life. We have all been there, thankful is perhaps the furthest thing from our minds.
Perhaps we could try a different approach and think of something that may be going well in our life and thank God for that one thing, as small as it may be. One of our Thanksgiving tradition in our home is to say something or someone that we are grateful for. This is one way to get especially the younger ones to get in the habit of being appreciative.
Giving thanks is a subject that is taught throughout the old and new testament. Psalm 100: 4 tells us to: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.
So for today let us pray that God will give our children a heart of thankfulness. Pray that they will learn to be grateful for small things in their life. Pray that they will not have the attitude of entitlement, but instead be grateful when people are kind to them.
In His Service,
Vilma
