"...
And thank God all the time. To do so, it is the will of God in Christ Jesus
" (1
Thessalonians 5:18)
My mother-in-law had a long life that
evolved in gratitude. She was thankful for everything all the time. And often
she found things to be thankful for that no one else would regard as a
thanksgiving subject.
When she became old and lived a lonely, single
existence and her body would no longer withstand the demands as before, she
would be thankful for having less pain today than yesterday and that her
children were kind and telephoned her. During one period she was thankful that
she could get out of bed every morning and when she could no longer do so, she
was thankful that she could get up out of bed if she had help from someone.
Many years ago,
Merlin R. Carothers wrote a series of books on gratitude. One of them was given
the title "God's Power Through Thanksgiving." The book gives many
examples of how the power of God is released when we express our gratitude. It
is as if we demonstrate our faith in God as we dare to thank Him for
everything. It is as if we are saying to God: “I do not really understand why
it has to be like it is, but my life rests in Your hands and I rely on Your
help."
Someone once said
that we are to "fast regarding
complaints and feast on gratitude." It is healthy advice.
Prayer
Lord, help me today to starve out the
complaints in my life and bask in gratitude. Remind me of all the little
wonderful things that are around me and that I ought to be thankful for.
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