I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
I don’t think thankful hearts grow on trees. I think they are grown, slowly, meticulously over time. When we plant our garden every year, we are in such a big hurry to reap the harvest of our efforts, but before the harvest there is a lot of planning and hard work. The soil has to be prepared. We have to plant the seeds in good soil if we want a good crop. After the seeds are planted, we have to make sure they are getting enough water and sunshine and fertilizer. We have to hoe occasionally, and we have to remove all of the weeds. Eventually, we see the growth of fruit or vegetables that quickly go from the garden to the table to the tummy, and we finally get to reap the benefits. We cultivated the land, and we brought food to our table.
Our pastor preached a series out of the book of Colossians, and he explained to us a life of “thanksliving”. Without Christ, we can’t have a thankful heart, but with Him we can’t help but be thankful. He doesn’t want us to just simply be thankful, but rather He wants us to live out that thankfulness.
I was talking to Jeff last night over dinner, and I told him that I had no idea how many times I stopped during my crazy chaotic day yesterday and said, “Thank you, Jesus!” I lost count. I thanked Him all day long. This COVID pandemic ain’t no joke y’all! It gets a little crazy in the clinic, and at times I feel like I can’t keep up. I hate for people to have to wait on me. I don’t like to get behind. So I pray. I pray a lot. I know that I can accomplish anything the good Lord wants me to accomplish, and no matter how crazy things look on the outside, He always gets me through! I say, “Thank you, Jesus,” all day long because I know that without Him, I could accomplish nothing!
It is when we recognize this that we have cultivated a thankful heart! Just like cultivating the garden takes time and preparation, cultivating a thankful heart takes time and effort on our part. We have to recognize how much God loves us and how much He has given us. Salvation is the greatest gift of all time, and for this gift, we should be eternally thankful. We can thank God all day long for this great gift, but it’s so much better to live it out. We can live out our thankfulness for salvation by sharing this gift with others. Cultivate a life of thankfulness in Christ! Although times are hard, and it looks like this old world is falling apart, we don’t have to live in fear. We can live in thankfulness knowing without a shadow of a doubt that God’s got this! He’s got you. He’s got me. He’s got this! Let’s be thankful and live out our thankfulness by sharing our hope and faith with someone today.
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 