“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you!” (II Thess. 5:18)
Did you think that doing God’s will for your life was complicated? Hard to discern and even harder to perform??
Look how simple it is …..even a child can do it!!
Give thanks !!! This is God's will for you !!!
We all give thanks, and are grateful for things every day. But how close have you come to giving thanks for ‘everything’?
I have come ever so much closer than I ever would have had not so many things become impossible for me to do.
How often we take things for granted until we lose them -- then suddenly we recognize their worth.
I would like to challenge you, today, to go through your day paying attention to the very little things you take for granted and probably never thought to be thankful for them.
Have you ever thanked God that you can open a jar or a bottle?
That you can run with ease from the grocery store to your car to avoid getting wet?
That you can press down the button on a hair spray can?
That you can get dressed without struggling with hands and joints that won’t co-operate?
That you can take off your socks?
That you can take a pot off the stove and carry it to the table to serve your family?
That you can open the fridge door?
That when you finally sit down to enjoy your supper someone asks for one more condiment and you have to get up again, but you can do it quickly and without pain?
That you can release the seat belt button?
That you can wipe the table without pain?
That you can get down on your hands and knees to wash the floor?
That you can scoop a small child up into your arms?
That when you toss and turn at night are you thankful that you CAN?
That you can lift a grocery item off the store shelf and put it into your buggy?
Sometimes I observe people and see them get all upset about some little inconvenience and I want so badly to go up to them and point out all the things around them that they have to be thankful for.
How contented life becomes when we focus with thanksgiving on the little things that comprise our everyday chores and tasks.
A song rises up in our hearts ….and instead of complaining….we are singing!
Will you be singing today?
7 comments:
Thank you, Julie, for reminding me to be thankful for the things I'm able to do, and to quit complaining about the things that I can't do or that cause me great pain to do.
The decreased flexibility and the increased aches and pains that accompany getting older cause me to complain far too often. I needed this reminder to focus instead on the things I can still do and to be thankful to God that I can!
I shall sing today! Thanks for the reminder.
Oh Julie, you must be so umcomfortable. I'm sorry.
I would be singing after those clear and vivid illustrations of all I have to be thankful for but . . .my throat is sore, so perhaps you can do one thing today that I can't. (I can still smile though)
Julie, thank you for this reminder. It is so easy to be other than thankful when our priorities get mixed up. I am thankful for YOU.
You're so right - there's always something to be thankful for! Life is so much nicer if we have a song in our hearts, thanking God for all His blessings, and not focusing on the things we have no control over. May we echo the Apostle Paul's words, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." Phil. 4:11.
Hope you're feeling better today!
Elsie
I'm with you...it is just amazes me how much GOOD God is letting us experience, that even when there are tough patches, we here in North America are still ahead of the game.
I know you make the decision to be thankful when you could just as easily grumble. Thank you for doing so! It is an inspiration.
PS: I've been so lazy; I've just been clicking over to your blog from Lovella's blog links every day. I hope you will be OK if I start visiting from a link on my own site now.
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