Are You Thankful?

Isn’t snow beautiful? My town got a heavy dusting of snow a few days ago. I could hardly believe it. Seriously, it’s not even Thanksgiving! 😳 But as the sun disappears and cloudiness prevails, I have been reminded how wonderful snow can be. God designed snow as a bright and beautiful thing. It is white, the color that reflects the most light. It continues to reflect sunlight even on the cloudy days. The color white is so pure and clean. Snow adds a touch of beauty and fun even to the cold days. Yes, snow can be extremely annoying when it traps you indoors (for those of you up north) or dirties your car, but imagine if snow was black. It would make the dark days darker, the depressing days even more difficult. Have you ever stopped to thank God even for the color of the snow? As Thanksgiving approaches (crazy, right?), I wonder how any atheist can truly celebrate. We say we are thankful, but there is an implied object of our thanks that some people miss. How can we be really and truly thankful for family, friends, or the outdoors without being thankful to Someone. You might’ve noticed I capitalized “someone”. That’s because the only person we can pour out all our thankfulness to is the One who made it all, God. Thankfulness is more important that you may realize. It helps us to trust God and be content in His ways. Have you ever thought of thankfulness as a gift? The other morning, I was struggling with some questions about my salvation and relationship with God. I was feeling down, but soon I found that I was humming a song. It was a Bible verse I had memorized years before to a catchy tune, and one that I had not thought of or reviewed for quite a while. I still believe it was God talking to me because of the suddenness, randomness, and perfect timing. It seemed out-of-the-blue, but I listened to what He told me through the verse. Here’s what it said:

Psalm 107:13-15

  Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.  Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

For some reason, I remembered it as “give thanks to the Lord for His faithfulness”, but both were applicable. I didn’t understand why I needed to do it, but I obeyed. I thanked God for His faithfulness. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not to great at praying for long periods of time, but I just prayed and thanked Him. It was extremely short, but my heart is full of gratitude for how even though I mess up at TON and am unfaithful, I can always run back to Him. Sometimes, though, I just need to be reminded to remember! When things get hard- whether physically, emotionally or spiritually- even if you don’t know exactly what God wants you to do, give thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 

in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Thankfulness is kind of like a tool. It makes us reflect on what God has done and builds our trust that He will continue to have a perfect plan. We might not know all His will, but we do know to give thanks, no matter the circumstances. The You Can Trust God to Write Your Story book giveaway ends on Monday!!