Giving thanks is a habit I need to cultivate all year long--not just in November. I have been given an abundance of blessings. So why do I always want more? I wish I were taller, wiser, quicker, calmer, prettier, smarter, more outgoing or skillful. My litany goes on and on. How often do I complain that I wish I could hear better? Unfortunately, that grumble is one I mutter almost every day! I need the attitude of gratitude to infuse my life moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day until the act of giving thanks becomes my habitual response to my circumstances.
God imposes serious consequences for grumbling. Satan began this sin of ingratitude by wanting more power and more glory; instead, he was cast out of heaven. He tempted Adam and Eve to eat forbidden fruit in a misguided quest for more knowledge; hence, God turned them out of the Garden of Eden. The Israelites complained about the manna God gave them on their journey to the Promised Land; and, as a result, God imposed forty more years of wandering in the wilderness upon them until that generation of grumblers all expired. There is a lesson here for me: my whining must cease!
And aren't these consequences given by God fitting? As parents, don't we find ourselves wishing we could open the car door and simply leave the children who constantly complain, "How much further?"..."I'm hungry!"..."When will we get there?"..."I need a potty break"..."Are we there yet?," at the side of the road so we could continue our journey in peace? Wouldn't that consequence cure our children's whining once and for all? Yet God doesn't give up on his children, but disciplines us in ways full of grace to lead us back to Him.
The cure for our ingratitude is to give thanks. A quick search of the Bible Gateway web site for the phrase, give thanks, produced 48 results. Over and over in the Psalms, we are told to "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good." Intellectually, I do believe that God is good; yet my ungratefulness proclaims to those around me that I don't find God good in practice. Therefore, I must change my practice to match my knowledge of my heavenly Father who loves me.
Lately, I'm been reading One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are written by Ann Voskamp, a young Canadian farm wife who also home-schools six children. Her premise is "Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren't satisfied in God and what He gives." I see that in myself, and I want to change. She further goes on to note the many times that Jesus gave thanks and then a miracle occurred. Jesus took the loaves and fishes, gave thanks and fed the five thousand. Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and thanked the Father before raising Lazarus from the dead. Even on the night he was betrayed, Jesus gave thanks, knowing full well what his future held, and miraculously we became part of the kingdom of God.
And isn't that exactly what happens to me when I obediently give thanks? A miracle occurs in my mind that switches my focus from myself to the God who has provided me with every good and perfect gift I need to live life abundantly right now. I give thanks and recall that I am a child of God with membership in His kingdom.
No matter what my circumstances are, it is imperative that I give thanks to God in all things, commands I Thessalonians 5:18. By giving thanks even in difficult times, I recall God's love, power, mercy, grace, justice, strength, and goodness. Indeed, I am reminded of all the previous times that God has rescued me. Giving thanks gives me a much-needed adjustment in my attitude!
And that is a miracle!
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