TWO THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
— I THESSALONIANS 5:18

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Today, it is time for you to stop what you are doing, go off by yourself, get down on your knees, and truly thank God for all He has done for you, and for all He has promised to do for you.

Our scripture today tells us that no matter what our circumstances may be, we must give thanks. When things seem not to be going our way, there are many reasons for us to give thanks.

Having a thankful heart is a mindset that we have to create. We are not naturally thankful creatures. We must practice being thankful for others and especially with God. When we make being thankful a part of our life; we will find that our attitude, our outlook, and our perspective will change for the better.

Here are two things that you may want to tell God “thank you” for today.

For what He has done
How many times have we prayed and felt the power of God in our circumstances? We often thank Him for the big things, but what about the little things? Have you thanked Him for a good night’s sleep, your health, safe travels, or food to eat? We constantly petition God in prayer but rarely take the time to thank Him.

When He healed the lepers in Luke 17, only one came back to thank Him. Jesus asked him where the other 9 were. How was it that only one came back for something as big as life-giving healing?

We sometimes take God and His love for us for granted. We have all been at points in our life where it seemed we had little to be thankful for. The truth is, we had a lot to be thankful for, but we weren’t looking for it.

Wherever you are today, no matter how busy it may be, stop and give thanks to God for the things He has done in your life.

For what He will do
Each of us often think about what it will be like when we die. How great will Heaven be? God promises us that we will have no more sickness, pain, hurt, problems, anxiety, grief, sadness, and the list goes on. We will spend a short time visiting this earth, but we will spend eternity in our real home in Heaven.

We should not only be thankful that He promised us eternity in Heaven, but we will spend eternity in Heaven with Him. He has gone ahead of us to create a special place for you.

We usually only think of things to be thankful for that we have received, however, there is so much to be thankful for that has been promised to us, but we have not yet received.

Think and Pray
Find some time today to be alone, and say thank you.

Father, You are good and loving, showing me mercy and forgiveness that I don’t deserve. You have blessed me in more ways than I can count, and have promised me a future with You that I can scarcely imagine. Thank You for all that You are, for all You’ve done and for all You’ve promised. Amen.

Dr. Joe Pettigrew served as a college Dean and professor of Leadership and Management prior to founding Leaderpoint Consulting where he worked with business leaders at more than half of the Fortune 500 companies. In 2007, Joe co-founded In The Zone Ministries that provides resources, events and daily devotionals to engage men and women in their local church and encourage them in their faith. Learn more at joepettigrew.org.