And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 TPT
I know it’s just a commercial, but it really bugs me. A guy is crawling in the desert looking for water. He sees a cooler up ahead, he opens it and it’s filled with ice cold bottled water. He throws his hands up and head back and yells NOOOOO!!! Suddenly a helicopter appears and drops fruit flavored water additive, then even says he’s “good” when asked if he wants a lift back home. Really!? I know it’s far fetched, but the part that bugs me is we as a society have become this ungrateful.
Seriously think about it. We’re complaining we have to stay at home because of a pandemic, and forget to be thankful that we have a home to be in, we don’t have the virus and we have plenty of technology to keep us entertained and in communication for others. Not to mention we complain about having to wear a mask, instead of being grateful that we have a place to go that we need to wear it. Are you seeing the picture yet, we are ungrateful brats for the most part. What is wrong with us? Are we that self focused that we can’t see there are those around us that are experiencing more difficulties and problems? What if we began to take our eyes off ourselves and look at ways we can help others?
The truth is, when we begin to see beyond ourselves and see what we can do to make things better for others, we actually become thankful and develop a grateful heart. We experience this emotion called satisfaction, before we know it, our perception of circumstances change and we realize life isn’t as bad as we thought it was. This doesn’t mean we don’t hope for greater things, but we actually have a joy and peace where we currently are. In the process we find that when we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, then all the other things come into our lives. Just like today’s verse reminds us, that when we’re thankful in all things then God’s amazing perfect plan for our lives happens, that abundant life He died to give us!
Leave a Reply