“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
To sing praises to your name, Most High;
To proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
Your faithfulness at nighttime.” (Psalm 92:1-2, CEB)
Recently, the Lord has been teaching me about thankfulness. I am learning that unless I wake up and choose thankfulness, I am susceptible to frustration and anger throughout the day. I am also learning that thankfulness starts with a choice: either I choose to have a thankful heart or I don’t make a choice, thus choosing passivity and unpreparedness. This approach to life is not only unprepared, it’s careless. Many of us have jobs in which we are expected to be prepared. These expectations are not unreasonable, but they often require a conscious effort on our part to take steps towards being ready. How are we taking steps towards preparing our hearts and minds for the day ahead?
About five years ago, my friend had a stroke. She was completely paralyzed on the right side of her body making it very difficult for her to perform basic tasks. Her husband learned to meet many of her needs. It was hard to watch them go through such pain and frustration; however, through it all, they remained positive. Through this painful process, the couple chose to focus on what was good, rather than the painfully difficult circumstances they were in. Every day they made a list of ten things they were thankful for. Oftentimes their list would consist of big steps that she had taken in her physical therapy. These were the “good” days, where it was easy to be thankful because they could see progress. Other times, when it was not such a “good” day, they would find things to still be thankful for, like Jello for lunch or kind words from nurses. Whether big steps or seemingly small details, this couple treated every opportunity as one to choose thankfulness, gratitude, and positivity. I am pleased to share that in the last five years, she fought to overcome her stroke and she made a complete recovery – to God be the glory! Although the road was tough at times and the couple was certainly tempted to grumble, they were thankful for the Lord’s presence and His faithfulness to restore!
My husband and I are so grateful for this couple’s influence in our lives. The Lord reminds me of their testimony whenever I start to grumble; however, this reminder is not because I am grumbling over insignificant things. We all experience heartache to varying degrees, and comparing our struggles to those of others is in vain. I believe the Lord brings this story to mind to remind me that thankfulness is a choice. As children, we were taught to say “thank you,” but thankfulness goes much deeper than that. Thankfulness is cultivating a spirit of gratitude from which flows service, gratefulness, and joy. Our mouths speak from an overflow of the heart (Matthew 12:34), meaning our mouths are a direct reflection of the current state of our hearts. Without thankfulness, we fail to see the good in this world and we can only grumble. We leave ourselves vulnerable to attacks from the enemy, and we allow discontent to take root in our lives. Knowing these truths, why wouldn’t we seek to prepare ourselves every morning for the day ahead? Why wouldn’t we prepare our hearts and minds with a thankful spirit?
In all circumstances, we are called to thankfulness. There is always something we can be thankful for, but we must make the choice to see it. The scriptures are littered with verses calling us to give thanks, sing praises, and rejoice – just look through the Psalms! What if we started the day with thankfulness and ended the day recalling His faithfulness, as the verse above says? This attitude is possible, but it must come from an overflow of our hearts. Let us cultivate thankful spirits, thus preparing ourselves, blessing others, and pleasing God. Amen!
