1 Colossians 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
It's not a suggestion in the Bible to be thankful. It isn't a gentle reminder to occasionally think of the things that you are grateful heart. It is a command, that in all things we are to give thanks and express our gratitude.
...And be thankful...singing to God with Gratitude in your hearts...And whatever you do...do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks...
Being thankful is also a choice. We must choose to recognize what we are thankful for and then choose to do the next step — to express that gratitude. William Arthur Ward wrote two quotes that I love regarding the importance of expressing gratitude:
Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
Gratitude can turn common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.
Gratitude is also the expression of a healthy heart and allows us to rise above each occasion with a broadened perspective. I don't think God commanded us to be thankful for his own good, I think he commands this of us for our own spiritual and mental health. This last Tuesday at our prayer and worship night, we sang a free-spirited song that just says "thank you for loving me, healing me, saving me, _________ me, _________ me," you fill in the blanks. It was a prayer of thanksgiving being offered up to the Lord, a prayer that has stayed knit to my heart the rest of the week. As I continued throughout the week, I wrote down things that I was thankful for as they came to me. It became a sort of prayer that soothed me, and helped me see a bigger perspective than each individual circumstance I faced. Though some of things that I expressed thanks for were smaller things, my notes turned into a poem of sorts, which is written below.
I hope that this encourages you to express thanks today.
Thank you for giving me joy
In times when it would otherwise seem impossible to find.
Thank you for giving me hope,
An unwavering conviction of what is to come.
Thank you for loving me as I am,
Yet calling me to something higher.
Thank you for being my strength
When mine has come to an end.
Thank you for showing me grace
When I continually fall short.
Thank you for meeting me
When I seek time with you.
Thank you for listening to me
When you have the rest of the world praying, too.
Thank you for your unconditional love
That shows no limits and allows me to live in daily freedom with you.
Thank you for freedom in my heart
Where so many hearts are held captive by guilt and fear.
Thank you for salvation,
For paying the ultimate price so that I might live.
Thank you for the home, the belongings, friends and family
That you have blessed me with and entrusted to me for now.
Thank you for the people I do have,
Even though I miss the one I no longer have.
Thank you for healing,
For teaching me how to lean on you for understanding.
Thank you for perspective,
For allowing me to have faith that there is more beyond the here and now.
Thank you for health.
Thank you for peace.
Thank you for life.
Thank you for laughter.
Thank you for music.
Thank you for today.
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Blessings,
Jamie
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