Those Two Little Words
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
Recently I was driving back from visiting my sister and her family in Cochrane. As I was turning on the highway, I started to pray, which is what I always do when travelling, asking for the Lord's guidance and protection. This time though I realized I had said the same prayer earlier that day when I drove to Cochrane. It was answered as I arrived there safely and had no car trouble, but not only did I not recognize the answer to prayer in the moment, I didn't give thanks for it.
It got me thinking about how many times I must fail to say thank you to God. Not only for answered prayer, but for literally everything in my life because my entire existence and everything I have is only because He created it and then gifted it to me.
More Than An Impulse
Saying thank you is something we are taught to do as children and while it's an automatic impulse if someone gives us a gift or opens the door for us, it should be more than an impulse when it comes to our God. It should be the very cornerstone of our lives and the forefront of our minds.
We are taught about the role thankfulness should have in our lives in God's Word. Starting with Colossians 3:15 where it says:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15
And then again in Thesssalonians chapter 5, starting at verse 16 we're instructed to:
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Thessalonians 5:16-18
God's Will For Us
So often we associate God's will as a path we need to find to get us somewhere in life. But as we are taught here, no matter where we are or what we are doing, God's will for us is to give thanks in all circumstances. When life is going great, give thanks. When life is hard, give thanks. On a good day, give thanks. On a rough day, give thanks. In everything, give thanks.
#THANKFUL15
If you're like me and you find yourself often overlooking the small stuff, then why don't you join me on a journey I'm calling the #thankfu15. In order to give God the thanks He more than deserves and in order to further develop my “attitude of gratitude”, I'm committing for the next 15 days to make a list daily of 15 things I'm thankful for. And for those of you doing the math, yes that list is going to add up to 225 items. But there's a reason I'm aiming for a high number here and that is because it's easy to come up with three things you are thankful for off the top of your head. What I want to do though is dig deep so I'm not only saying thank you for what's on the surface. I want to learn to look for the little things that normally would pass me by and with gratitude, say thank you.
So will you join me on the thankful 15? I hope and pray you do. Closing off with a quote on gratitude from AW Tozer. He wrote,
"Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it." AW Tozer
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