“Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”

Psalms 95:2

Have you ever made a “thankful list”?  I have, and it started out with “I am thankful for. . .”  That list ended up going for pages and pages.  I was amazed at how something so simple could so completely change my perspective.  Around Thanksgiving, people start to think about things that they are thankful for (however, I don’t always think that an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness quite sinks in for most of us).  But I tell you truly, we all should make the practice of giving thanks more a part of each day – annual thankfulness just doesn’t do justice to all that we have been given by our loving Father.

We are told over and over again in the Bible to give thanks, or rejoice, not only in the things that make us feel good but also in trials and suffering: “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, emphasis added).  There are so many things that we could allow to fill us with discontentment and worry, but the truth is that the things we have to be thankful for would far outweigh those other things if we would but open our eyes and see them!

Thankfulness is a choice.  We are not forced to be thankful, but when we make a decision to walk in thankfulness, no matter what comes, life begins to look entirely different.  We too can live lives “overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7). Such a life opens up our hearts to quiet contentment and overwhelming joy, and it reveals the Father to those around us.  Thankfulness teaches you to find the good in both people and circumstances.  What are you thankful for today?

The rains have come again to Maasailand — thank you, God!