Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. {Philippians 4:11}
Thanksgiving Day is over and Christmas is less than a month away. To children across the world Christmas time can be very exciting. To parents who are struggling to make ends meet and are busy with their jobs and taking care of their homes, this season can be very stressful and overwhelming. To others who have lost a loved one, living in a nursing home facility with hardly any friends that visit them, or children that are living in poverty and have hardly anything to eat, I can only imagine what Christmas will be like for them. Christmas must be hard.
Christmas season is a wonderful season. It’s a time of Christ’s birth. A time to reflect on the wonderful gift of God that He gave to us – His precious Son as a little baby in the manger, come to take away the sins of the world. But in the midst of this celebration we can end up forgetting truly what it is all about. We can get caught up with what gifts to buy loved ones, what meals to prepare and how to afford them, and how to get our house decorated for the coming Christmas Day. It can be fun but can be very stressful at the same time. Or we can end up pitying ourselves because Christmas is not the same in our homes as others have it. We look at our situation and find nothing to be thankful for. We just see sadness, hardships, and discouragements everywhere we turn. But it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, graduated from a university or not, are privileged or underprivileged. Everyone can choose to be thankful. In the end what matters is a thankful heart. A rich and popular man can be very unhappy and miserable inside. The opposite can also be true about someone who is poor and without a lot of friends, yet they have such contentment in their hearts. The difference is a thankful heart. What makes the latter one happy and grateful is a heart that is filled with thanksgiving. Being thankful is very much a Biblical thing. It is very much a God desired thing for every one of us. The Bible tells us,
O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. {Psalm107:1}
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. {1 Thessalonians 5:18}
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. {Philippians 4:6-7}
That’s all the direction we need to start having a thankful heart – prayer and supplications. When you’re getting overwhelmed and harried and annoyed at everything, start talking to the Lord. Start tapping into the power you need to overcome. When you’re overwhelmed, when circumstances aren’t easy, and when money is hard to come by and things can start getting really challenging, choose to be thankful. You can choose it, and you should choose it if you want to be happy. You have to willfully choose between thanksgiving and despair. We can do this by venting out our feelings and frustrations, our sorrow and sadness to the one who loves us so much and has given His life for us, Jesus Christ. He will come. He will come and help us rise above our circumstances. We will not be on our own. We are not without help. We don’t have to be alone in our life’s challenges. If we choose thanksgiving and being grateful instead of being unhappy and complaining, the Holy Spirit is going to come and work things out for our good. Remember what the scripture tells us:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. {Romans 8:28}
You see whenever we focus on God’s blessings in our lives instead of what we don’t have, the Holy Ghost is going to lift us up. He’s going to bring us into the realm of joy and peace. He’s going to work out things for our good because we are doing His will – being thankful. Whereas if we choose to murmur and complain we will end up attracting more things to be complaining about. Remember the children of Israel in the wilderness? All they ever did was complain, murmur, moan and groan of the things they didn’t have instead of being thankful for what they did have – like the Lord being their shield and protection, their comfort and strength. He was providing for them manna from heaven everyday. The Lord was very displeased with many of them because all they did was whine and complain away. So much so that in the process of time those that complained and murmured ended up dying in the wilderness and missing out on the blessings and the promise of the Lord – the Canaan Land.
The Bible tells us whatever a man thinks, so is he. {Proverbs 23:7} So if you focus on your misfortunes guess what? You’re going to keep bringing that stuff into your life. But if we focus on God’s goodness and mercies and grace, well then that’s what we’re going to end up having more of – God’s blessings and grace in our lives.
I’m telling you, we could never go wrong if we choose thanksgiving and having a grateful heart. Any time of the day or hour we can choose to say, “Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, for Your great love for me at the cross. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for the wonderful knowledge of You and that I can feel You in my soul, and that I am never alone in this life. Thank You, thank You, thank You, Jesus, for You.” You could go on and on and on and list to the Lord what you are thankful for. When we do this, His love and peace, joy and favor will soon be upon us. He will bless us and give us the desires of our heart because we chose to be thankful to Him.
We might not have all the things we would like for this Christmas season, but being thankful is something we can all choose to be.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. {Philippians 4:19}
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: {2 Corinthians 9:8}
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. {Psalm 34:8}
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You Father for Your great and boundless love for Your people. Thank You for Your death at the cross at Calvary. Thank You that one day You chose to come down and be a baby in a manger so that You could lay down Your life for my sake and save me from my sins.
Father, there is so much to be thankful for. Just You being in my life is so much already to be thankful for. I thank You because on top of this You forgive me of my sins, give me joy and peace in the Holy Ghost, and hear my prayers. You give me so much comfort in this life Lord Jesus, I love You so much. I thank You, for always being here for me. I pray Savior that You would please help me to always be thankful whatever state I find myself in. Help me to always believe in Your great love for me that whatever happens, You will work all things out for my good. Thank You Father. I pray this in Your most wonderful and precious name, Jesus. Amen.
