ThanksLIVING Part 2

HOW DO WE DEVELOP THE HABIT OF ThanksLIVING?

REMEMBER WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN

 The German statesman, Richard Von Weizsaecker, once wrote, “Those who work hard to FORGET their PAST are the ones who are likely to stay in exile the longest for it is REMEMBRANCE that is the SECRET OF REDEMPTION.” As you inch towards the end of another year, be reminded that WHAT WE REMEMBER IS A CHOICE and that such remembrances affect your ATTITUDE. Whether you are sad, angry or thankful depends on your ATTITUDE. You may wonder what you have to be thankful for IF YOU CHOOSE to remember the DIFFICULT DAYS and NOT the PLEASANT ONES. When we COUNT OUR BLESSINGS and when we choose to remember them, then we can truly see God’s grace in action.

BELIEVE THAT ALL IS WELL AND ALL CAN BE WELL 

No condition is permanent, the saying goes. The nature of God as the GOD OF MERCY does not provide us with what is bad. Jesus asked in Matthew 7:9, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead (NLT)?” In the same way, Followers of Christ must know that God will answer us in His perfect time. It might not be your time but in His time. The LACK OF THE SPIRIT OF GRATITUDE is the reason that we fail to act with thankfulness for the things that we have. The spirit of gratitude lies not in what we want to see or what we want to have, but in what our attitude is towards what we already have.

The LACK OF HOPE can cause a lot of destruction and prevent us from bouncing back after a setback. Without hope it is hard to develop habit of thanksLIVING.

CHOOSE TO SEE WHAT IS GOOD  

Choose the things that bring THANKFULNESS not those that elicit anger, regret and sadness. If all that you do is look at the things you do not have, it is very difficult to remember what you do have. If what you do is feeling sorry for yourself for missing out on life’s pleasures, it is difficult indeed to see those strengths that you do have. Yes, there are wars in our world, there is hunger, and there is pain. There is poverty and there are reports of death. Yet, we become thankful not because of, but in spite of all of these. A songwriter once wrote: “Count your blessing and name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

The Samaritan leper who was healed by Christ that afternoon did not cry over the years and the things and relationships he lost. He saw God’s blessings and therefore became thankful. Someone once wrote that he was crying for a shoe until he found someone without a leg. The Prophet Habakkuk heard about the terror and violence that the Chaldean army was inflicting on the nations they conquered. Yet, he was not afraid and uttered one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible.

Habakkuk 3:17–18 – “17  Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18  yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation (NLT)!”

The above lines were written by someone who had reasons to be afraid. The prophet had heard enough of these stories to be fearful but as the writer reflected on the kindness of God, the lines above came powerfully to him because of what God had done in the past. Church, What God has done for you in the past?  You don’t need to wait for the answered prayers before you can say, “Thank you Lord.”  Thank God for what EVERYTHING that He has done for you in the past and at present.

DO NOT TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED

Have a REFLECTIVE spirit and OPEN mind.   The other nine lepers had heard that Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead and so they may think that they deserved to be healed just like the rest. The Samaritan had a different view. He remembers the life of isolation and living as the dead while still alive. He saw what Christ did and thought about the possibilities of having a great future. After this reflection, he returned to Jesus to say, “Thank You!” We develop an attitude of gratitude if we do not take for granted every blessing that we received from God (big or small).  We develop an attitude not because but in spite of all what we have been through.

CONCLUSION

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,

Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;

Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way

With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,

With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;

And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;

And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;

The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;

The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;

For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore

From our mother’s arms, God has blessed us with countless gifts of love and still till now God is with us. May you pause to thank those who have been a great influence in your life. May you remember always that what we remember is a choice and that gratitude is an attitude.  May you develop a habit of ThanksLIVING.