11.26.20—A Thankful Heart!–1 Chronicles 16: 1-4
My friend, may I ask you a question? The Bible tells us to pray, praise and give thanks continually. Does that mean even when we find it difficult, if not impossible to discover the blessing, we should not neglect the praise and thanksgiving?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I’m M. Clifford Brunner
Perhaps there is no more difficult time to muster up praise and thanksgiving than when you are sick, especially when that sickness might be unto death. When daily living becomes a consistent exercise in pain control, medication, and just try- ing to survive, it would seem that there isn't much room for “happy.” And, since God understands this better than we do, it would make sense that the last thing He might be expecting to come from our lips is "thank-you."
The Bible tells us to pray, praise and give thanks continually. That means, even when we find it difficult, if not impossible to discover the blessing, we should not neglect the praise and thanksgiving. There is always something to be thankful for even when it seems that all blessings are hidden from us. If we are sick, there is someone sicker. If we are filled with sorrow, there is always someone whose heart is heavier than ours. If we are to die, we could die without the knowledge that we lived a Christian life of purpose and hope. Looking at it this way, continual praise and thanksgiving do a have a regular, daily place in our lives. When we understand that even the little we have is better than that which could be worse, it puts a whole different perspective on how we view life–thankful heart or thankless heart. In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week." A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week." A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat–only the nine of us." (George Mikes, How to be Decadent, Andre Deutsch, London.)
God appointed the Levites to bring praise and thanksgiving continually before Him. He did not ask them to do so only when they felt like it or the situation merited it. Rather, he commanded that it be continual, without condition, always with a purpose of thanking Him for blessings yesterday, today and tomorrow. It was God's way of putting thanksgiving into His children's lives on a daily installment. That way they could become conditioned to not only uttering praises–but making them an integral part of their daily lives. In this manner they would never miss finding a blessing, even if it were small or insignificant, for they had conditioned themselves to be thankful for all things continually. When we put praise and thanksgiving into the daily fabric of our lives, the "goats" in our lives are just another opportunity to give thanks.
We pray. Heavenly Father. You commanded that our thanksgiving be continual, without condition, always with a purpose of thanking You for blessings yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is Your way of putting thanksgiving into Your children's lives on a daily installment. That way we could become conditioned to not only uttering praises–but making them an integral part of our daily lives. In this manner we would never miss finding a blessing, even if it were small or insignificant, for the have conditioned ourselves to be thankful for all things continually. Forgive us when we forget this Lord and neglect opportunities to be thankful in our lives. Thank You for helping us to put praise and thanksgiving into the daily fabric of our lives. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.