Thank you for all Your spiritual blessings You so lovingly and graciously bestow upon me. “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor Me, and to the blameless I will show My salvation.” In uncertain times, God calls us to focus on Him and His faithfulness instead of our situations, to remind ourselves of His promise to never leave or forsake us ( Hebrews 13:5) and to trust Him to help us through everything we face in life. When we do, God responds, as recorded in Psalm 50:23. “I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:17 encourages our sacrificial thankfulness. He is compassionate and recognizes this kind of gratitude as a sweet sacrifice to Him. God’s given us so many spiritual blessings, not dependent on our circumstances, that we can praise Him and give Him thanks no matter our situation. Some believers are confused by this verse, thinking God expects us to thank Him for the sad and tragic situations and losses that bring us disappointment, discouragement, suffering, and grief. Although 1 Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us to “Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” it doesn’t mean we thank God for the sad situations, but thank Him in the midst of them. He knows our weaknesses and understands how it can be difficult for us to do so when we’re disappointed, discouraged, suffering, or grieving. Sadly, life sometimes brings tragic losses of loved ones, homes, jobs, and more, but still God calls us to be thankful. Things, positions, locations, and more don’t bring happiness rather, true gratitude comes from deep within us. Godly gratefulness is not dependent on what we own yet, God has given us so much to be thankful for in life.Ĭolossians 3:17 encourages, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”Įven if we have nothing to our names, we have incredibly valid reasons to thank Him daily. Whether we believe it or not, especially as Christians, it’s up to us to choose to focus on what God has so graciously given us rather than what the world gives and takes away on a daily basis. In an ever-changing world, there is no guarantee of hanging onto earthly possessions, especially in the shadow of natural disasters, wars, and more. Grateful hearts don’t come from owning things, holding positions, or having everyone love us. Seeing our lives as lacking leads us to believe that if we only have more-more of the things we believe we need to be happy- our lives and our attitudes would be different. Many individuals are living with an outlook of lack, seeing all the things they don’t have because it’s much easier to look at our glasses half-empty than half-full. So where and how do we gain gratefulness in such an ungrateful world? Social media is full and overflowing with discontented hearts-hearts that are angry, disappointed, hurt, grieving, and more. Having a grateful heart seems to be rare these days and at a premium to find. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
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