Thanksgiving

Today I want to give thanks for the benefits of thanksgiving.

I really believe that thanks giving, that is, giving of thanks (focusing on the good and appreciating it) has made a HUGE difference in my life.


I remember when I was yet a teenager, my mother once said to me, "Some day you'll be thankful for the fact that you have 'had it hard' when you were young." (We really lived on a very tight budget.) At the time I didn't understand why she said that.



But maybe that's why I have always appreciated what I have when some close to me could only see what they didn't have. I could see my blessings; they saw their deprivations.

I CHOSE TO BELIEVE that God's word was true when it said that He would supply our needs. Just as with I Cor 10:13, when my own feelings and thoughts--and perhaps the devil as well-- would bombard me and trying to get me to believe that I could NOT go through some trial or temptation I was in, I was also bombarded with thoughts and feelings sometimes that I needed something that was not forthcoming. But I chose to believe that if I REALLY NEEDED IT, God would somehow supply it. If it wasn't coming in, then I did a "need adjustment", that is, I stood firmly on the precept, "God I believe your word. If you don't supply it, then I must not need it as much as I think I do."

Seeing what you have to be thankful for is an uplift to your spirit. It causes you to be more content with life even when things are hard. Contentment with godliness is GREAT GAIN.

I have found that even at work when things seem to be going "all wrong", if I'll just "get hold of my head" and MAKE MYSELF think of the good, that I end up being happy that I have the job I have. The benefits outweigh the problems.

And that is true of any part of life if you refuse to give into focusing on what you don't like about it and begin to discipline yourself (if you are pulled to be the other way) to think about what is right in your life.

"Jesus is right for whatever's wrong in your life" is more than a catchy tune.

Thanksgiving is a blessing to me and it's an encouragement to others. When you see someone who really is worse off than you, but all they seem to see in their situation is what they can be thankful for, it's inspiring.



God is NOT pleased with people who grumble, complain, or are unthankful. He wants us to learn to think on the good, to be a thankful people and be content.

I'm glad that my mother taught me to be thankful both in word and by her example. And I am thankful for the effects that being thankful has had on my life.

Realizing how good you have it just makes you happier with life. It gives you a cushion to buffer what you have to go through when you face hardships in life.

And, as Bro. Randy said in a lesson on being a Thankfulist, being thankful is intertwined with faith.

Looking for good and acknowledging that good comes from God is a weapon against unbelief. When people start expecting more than they are getting or expecting more out of God than He delivers, they are taking steps into unbelief.

The more they give into that line of thinking and refuse to see how GOD IS taking care of situations, the more unbelief gets a hold on them.

So that is why today I chose just to say, I'M THANKFUL FOR THANKS GIVING; or, put another way, I am thankful for the good that giving thanks has brought to my life.