February 2, 2021 – Be Ye Thankful!

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:15. KJV.

Being thankful is more than saying a few words, when Mother touches your shoulder and asks, What should you say?

Thankfulness is a state of being grateful, and a feeling of awe comes over us. Is this why God created the vast earth and universe with vistas that give us pleasure?

Last Friday, on a drive with my son, we began drinking in the wonder of ice in the trees in the sun-filled morning. The ice reminded me of the glow of righteousness that adorns our hearts when we praise God and seek His Way.

What are we thankful for day to day? I remember the prayer Dad taught us when we were small, and we recited without understanding in full what it meant. For all we eat, for all we wear, for all we have everywhere, we thank you, Father. Amen.

          As we grew older, we learned it was not food or clothing or what we can touch. When I was eight years old, I gave my heart to Jesus, and I chose to be baptized. Yes, I was young, but never have I felt so whole, so blessed, so cleansed and filled with Joy. I have never forgotten that moment.

I didn’t understand the enormity of this step in my life of the Love of Jesus then, and how He forgives over and over. Each phase of life hands me a new challenge to learn and experience the understanding that Jesus never changes. No matter how I falter, He continues to forgive and love me.

We can choose to have thankful attitude and live a life of joy, but I have the one reason that is always true—God is Good.

Last week, I worshiped online, and one song described God: You are my Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness, My God, that is who You are! (Leeland).

         Indeed, God made a way! Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

Miracle Worker! Jesus healed the lame, made the blind to see, raised the dead, calmed the sea, and walked upon the water.

Promise Keeper! In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also. John 14:2-3.

         Light in the Darkness! Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” John 11:12.

Who is this Jesus? And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17.

Although we are thankful for many things, until we realize that everything we have comes from God, we cannot truly be thankful. Songs and poems describe the wonders of His creation, painters paint the mountain peaks and the rolling sea, and yet until we truly know God and Jesus through the Word of God, and those who serve  Him, we cannot be truly thankful.

         Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. I Peter 1:8-9.

         We cannot be truly thankful for His Goodness, until we are truly thankful IN HIM!

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Ephesians 5:20-21.

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. Psalms 118:24-26.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!  

 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Psalm 107:1-3.

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!  Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Psalm 95:1-7.

Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. The Lord is the strength of His people; He is the saving refuge of His anointed.  Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  Be their shepherd and carry them forever.  Psalm 28:6-9.

And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:27-28.

God has a purpose for each of us. Sometimes what we consider a disaster in our lives, may be the way God has a lesson to teach us. He has not forgotten us. He is perfecting us. Instead of berating God and complaining, ask God, What can I learn from this situation? Be open to the Holy Spirit’s Leading.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  I Thessalonians 5:18.