Returning Thanks. (Psalm 107)
What does it mean to be thankful? Have you ever really sat and thought about it? Maybe a better question to ask ourselves is what makes us thankful? What causes us to have a thankful attitude?
Are you thankful when circumstances aren't as you thought they should be or wanted them to be? Are you thankful when people disappoint you? Are you thankful when you see people succeed yet you struggle at times to make it through? Are you thankful during the painful moments of life? When life is not going ideally, when it hurts, when it is hard, when it seems unfair and challenging are you thankful?
Sometimes I wonder if we equate thanks with happiness in our life. Note that the questions I asked above did not say, "do you feel thankful". The questions above asked "are you thankful". Feeling and being are totally difficult. Being thankful requires action on our part. When life feels good I think it is easy to "feel" thankful. When life is difficult I think it can be challenging to be thankful, but not impossible if we make a choice to see what there is to be thankful for. It all depends on where our focus is. In order for us to get to the core of a consistently thankful heart we need to look beyond our every day inconsistent lives and anchor our hearts and minds to something (or someone) that can't be shaken or moved.
Psalm 107 reminds us of what to anchor our hearts to in order to live a more true and consistently thankful life.
The Psalm starts off with these verses, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this." It then goes on to talk about the struggles of mankind, the low points, the challenges, and the hurts that occur in life. But what it shows in all of life's ups and downs is the consistent love of the LORD, his help, his care, his support, his gentleness, his justice, his kindness, his forgiveness, his graciousness, it reminds us of who God is despite the ebb and flows of our life. Once the Psalm reminds us of who God is through all he does it then calls us to return thanks, "Give Thanks To The LORD". Choose to see who God is, reflect on that, and then let it fill the voids that life leaves and choose to be thankful for Him. Return the thanks, "Give thanks to the LORD."
How do you give thanks when life is a challenge? We remember who our God is. We call out to him! We call out with thankful hearts to our God who is Love. In thanks we seek the LORD who is constant and consistent in who he always is even when life is not. The key to being thankful is not letting our circumstances have control over our hearts and thoughts. We need to, daily, make sure our focus is on who God is, his perfect and consistent nature.
Psalm 107 ends with a reminder, "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD." How do we consider the great love of the LORD? Spend time with him, read the bible, let the very nature of who God is penetrate our lives and become a part of who we are and how we live. Then return the thanks and give it to the LORD. When we choose to do this, no matter what life throws at us, we can be thankful. Let us seek the God who we know is more than capable to see us through all things, be thankful for him and we can live with an unbelievable sense of peace. The choice is your.
Philippians 4:4-7
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A4-7&version=NIV
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