Thanksgiving Month? Life!

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Luke 17:15-18 NIV

Pam and I have been married 37 years and I love her very much. Couples have rhythms to communicate their love for one another. If Pam says to me, “I love you!”, she expects a reply back in the affirmative, “I love you too.” A grunt, a smile, or even a verbal “Uh huh”, just will not do. But neither would she want me to say “I love you” repeatedly for 100 times. For love to grow, so must the language of love grow. I know that there are more ways to express love than just speaking it, but love will find a way to express itself with our words.

One sign of a growing Christian is the increase of expressions of thankfulness. Giving thanks to God tangibly grows our language of love with God.  In our verse today we see Jesus highlighting a thankful heart.  He heals 10 lepers and tells them to go and show themselves to the Priest as directed by the Jewish law. One returned worshipping and giving thanks to God. Jesus gives commentary of the contrast that only 1 returned and 9 did not. I am not sure if 10 percent is the stat for those who remember to express thankfulness for God’s blessings in our lives, but I definitely want to be in that 10 percent category.

Thankfulness is a fruit that is expected for one who is being guided and influenced by the Holy Spirit. It reveals a heart that appreciates an action of kindness directed toward the person receiving the action.  It reflects an understanding that the action received was not earned, but freely given.  This in turn, should create a response of thankfulness.

The condition of the heart influences the free flow of  thankfulness.   A hard heart is incapable of connecting the goodness of God with life circumstances. A prideful heart thinks more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. A wounded heart, jaded by pain and unfairness, struggles to follow the path of gratefulness. An entitled heart is so infantile it can only imagine being served rather than responding with thanks. Paul stated that this callousness is a result of rejecting God. Romans 1:21 – “…because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Where would you see yourself on the thankfulness scale when you are driving? On the one hand, you are driving and not walking or riding a horse…PTL. On the other hand, it is your road and everybody else is in the way. Bless and curse not!

Thoughts to consider:

• Who was the last person that you expressed a genuine “thank you”?
• If you think about your conversations over the past week, how much would include thanking others?
• How quickly could you list 10 expressions of thankfulness toward your spouse? God? Have you told them lately?
• Do you think expressing thanks makes you sound weak?
• Who do you know that you would characterize as a thankful person? Are they pleasant to be around?
• Are thankfulness and complaining mutually exclusive? Which way do you lean?

Thankfulness is part of the  language of love.  You can intentionally become more thankful by adding to your vocabulary and frequency expressions of gratitude.

Memorize and meditate on these verses to allow a heart of gratitude to become your attitude.  Take the opportunity to practice praying each of these verses throughout the month of November.

I Chronicles 16:34 – “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 75:1 – “We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.”

Psalm 100:4 – “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

Psalm 107:8 – “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”

Psalm 119:62 – “At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, Because of Your righteous judgments.”

Daniel 6:10 – “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”

Jonah 2:9 – “But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

John 6:11 – “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.”

I Corinthians 15:57 – “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 5:20 – “…giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Philippians 4:6 – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”

Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

I Thessalonians 5:18 – “…in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

What has helped you be a person to remember to give thanks?

Blessings Love y’all