A New Look at Thankfulness

As I was attending my church's Thanksgiving service last night, we sang a song that really made me reflect on some of the ways that God works in our lives.  A few lines of the chorus  were a great reminder to me of the choice we have in our reactions to various circumstances in our lives.

He gives and takes away
He gives and takes away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be your name

1 Chronicles 29:11 says, "Yours, Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours."  So often we feel entitled to the things we have on earth.  As this verse says, everything is God's, He has given us the use of all of the things we have here on the earth.  We should be thankful for the many ways that God has blessed us!  Sometimes, God chooses to take away some of those earthly possessions that He has "loaned" to us and we react with anger at God because we felt entitled to those possessions.  If we know that God has temporarily blessed us with those possessions, why do we feel entitled to them?  Why aren't we thankful for the blessing that those things were while the were "on loan" to us?

Did you know you have a choice about how you react to things?  There is not a prescribed griping formula to follow when things don't go as planned.  You don't have to be angry!  You can still choose to praise the Lord even when not everything seems to be going well.

Romans 8:28 says, "We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  So often we think that God only gives us good things and and that anytime something bad happens to us, He is probably punishing us.  What if we changed our thinking and were thankful for the bad things that happen to us?  A lot of times, God is trying to teach us a lesson when something bad happens.  Sometimes having something bad happen is the only way that we will pay attention and turn to Him.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you."  God will never do anything to harm you--only to teach you and to show you His love for you!

God gives and takes away.  I challenge you this Thanksgiving to take time to not only be thankful for the many ways that God has blessed you, but also for the hard times and the things that you have learned (or will learn) through them.