SENSELESS THANKSGIVING

In everything give thanks: – 1Th 5:18

It takes spiritual and mental insight to live a life of constant gratitude to God. A man of God once said, “if you THINK well, you will THANK well”.

Anyone who has had whitlow before can testify how one little finger can suspend every other part of the body from enjoying peace. Problems are like that; they are attention-grabbers. But if you THINK well, you will THANK well.

I learnt a lesson recently from our 3-yr old daughter. When we ask her to pray during devotion, she’d first begin with our customary opening phrase “thank you for daddy, thank you for mummy...” But then, with her eyes open, she’d begin to list just about anything her eyes fall on:

Thank you for ball,

Thank you for book,

Thank you for ‘mischa’ (Mickey Mouse),

Thank you for slippers,

Thank you for this-man-walking-in-the-TV...

And so continues the weird thanksgiving (thanks-listing?).

We used to find it amusing, but then I thought to myself, “Do I ever thank God for any of those things? Or am I waiting for God to do the BIG ONE before I roll on the floor in gratitude.”

When you open your eyes, you’ll see that there’s a lot more blessings in your life than you’re ever aware of. When you “count your blessings one by one”, you’ll realise you’re richer, stronger and more advantaged than you realise.

You may not be where you want to be; but where you are now is someone else’s miracle. Take a moment today to do some ‘senseless’ thanksgiving. Thank God for your unique accent, for your big toe, for your child’s appetite, for the fact that you know what “appetite” means, ...

You’d be amazed that there’s absolutely nothing in your thanks-listing that will sound strange to God. He’s not going to say, “Wow, I never thought of that; I guess I really did give you a fine nose, you’re welcome child.”

No. Every ‘senseless’ thing you thank Him for was a conscious blessing of His to you, you’re only just beginning to notice them. When you THINK well, you won’t just THANK well, you’ll also LIVE well. Because you’ll get a fresher outlook on life and possess greater energy to face the challenges ahead.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN