My dad is new to the whole “texting” thing. Many times he gives short sentences that you have to decode to find the original meaning and intent. He has yet to understand the texting lingo.
For instance, although my dad uses half sentences with no discernible meaning he still spells out the whole word of “Thanks.”
IN texting shorthand it only takes 3 letters to get across one of the most powerful sentiments of all time…Thankfulness.
Thankfulness literally has the power to change lives. A person that is truly thankful can look into the eyes of even the worse circumstances and emerge unscathed. A person that shows thankfulness to others can turn their worst enemies into their truest friends. A person that is truly thankful for life has joy that is for the most part unexplainable to those without it.
So why is thankfulness so powerful?
Simple answer: Because we were designed to be thankful!
God made mankind for His pleasure and glory. At the heart of bringing glory to God is an aspiration to be thankful to God in all things. We were created to bring Him glory, so we were created to be thankful!
One thing I love about God is that He gave us a design manual (aka The Bible) telling us exactly what we need to be maintaining in our lives in order to get the most joy and abundance out of life. When we follow the manual we work at our highest possible level, simple as that.
One of the common threads the scriptures reveal that we must be maintaining is a spirit of Thankfulness. Jesus commends the one leaper that returned to thank Him for healing (Luke 17). The scriptures even say that God’s will for our lives is to be thankful!!! (1 Thess 5:18).
One passage I love is Colossians 3:15. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body…”
This verse simple tells us to let God’s peace rule in our hearts, and that this is our calling! But it doesn’t tell us how we are to do that. Oh, wait…yeah it does. The last part of that verse says this…
“…and be ye thankful.”
Whoop there it is! Be Thankful. Have Peace. Fulfill your Calling.
Not just this week, but every single day. Be thankful when someone is mean to you, because there were many that were mean to Jesus. Be thankful when you have little to eat, because Jesus went 40 days without eating. Be thankful when you go through pain, because Jesus went through the ultimate pain for us. Be thankful in death, because we have been given life eternal. Be thankful when the car refuses to cooperate, because Jesus walked everywhere he went. Be thankful for cancer, because the cancer of sin was defeated by Jesus. Be thankful for the sun, because God gave us His Son. Be thankful for lamps, because Jesus is the light of the world. Be thankful for tissues, because Jesus will wipe away all our tears. Be thankful for ink, because Jesus gave us His Word. Be thankful for broken promises, because Jesus fulfills all His promises. Be thankful for water, because Jesus has washed us clean. Be thankful for long lines, because there will be no wait to enter Heaven. Be thankful for stubbing your toe, because Jesus had nails through his feet. Be thankful for everything that is given us good or bad for it is far better than the hell that we deserve. ....Get the point?
Be thankful because that is what we were designed to do.
THX
-Jake