I must apologize for not posting in almost a month. Real life sometimes gets the best of you but that is no excuse. So please forgive me :-)
With the thoughts of thanksgiving being tomorrow, I decided to write about being thankful. I don't know if you are familiar with the hymn, but the song that always pops into my head is "I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise." I remember singing this song countless times in the church I grew up in.
If you grew up in church, I'm sure there were times you learned different prayers about giving thanks and things like that. I must admit though, as I have gotten older, I have understood much more about being thankful in every thing. It's easy to be thankful for the good times, but are we always "entering His gates with thanksgiving"?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 states "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." Are you able to give thanks to God in every circumstance you go through? There have been many situations that have happened in my adult life that has made me question "why?" And in those times I have struggled to be thankful. As I have grown though in Christ, I am realizing there is a reason for everything, and I am learning to be thankful for it.
You may wonder how you can be thankful in the bad times. We may not always know why we are going through it, but there is a reason. And I can be thankful that I am going through it because that means God is still growing me and wanting to use me. How thankful am I that God is still growing me!
So no matter our circumstances, we should be thankful. In the good times and bad times, in the times of tears or laughter, we should be thankful for what we do have, and thankful for what we are going through. I am in a situation right now that sometimes has me in worry, fear, and doubt, but I have to remember that my God is with me through it all, and there will be a time when the verse will come to pass for me
Psalm 30:11-12
You did it: you changed wild lament
into whirling dance;
You ripped off my black mourning band
and decked me with wildflowers.
I’m about to burst with song;
I can’t keep quiet about you.
God, my God,
I can’t thank you enough.
So what are you thankful for today? Think about all that God has given you. Think of the blessings God has given you. When you think on that, I promise no matter what you are going through, you will find joy and thankfulness.
