Finding Gratefulness in All Things – The Hallelujah House

It’s Thanksgiving Time:

I thought about something today…I remembered it’s November—the month we recognize thankfulness. The month of November blows in, just as October flies past.  I don’t know about you, but I feel the need to stop the madness on all that’s vying for my attention this month. I want to savor this month (not rush past it), by seeping my soul into a cup of grateful. Seeping allows the time for thankfulness to permeate and turn all that bitterness into sweetness, that anger into joy, that unforgiveness into humility, that self-pity into serving.

 There’s a reason God tells us in His Word. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV). He doesn’t instruct us to only give thanks when times are good. He tells us to always give thanks. For my season, it means being thankful for health issues. What? Yes, you heard that right. For you, it may be expressing thankfulness for financial hardships. Whatever it may be, try giving thanks for it.

  I believe this practice is comparable to when God tells us to pray for our enemies. When you start obediently forcing a prayer through a clenched jaw, something miraculous happens… they stop being your enemy. Your prayers become looser, and God releases you from the bondage of hate.

  The same can be true in practicing thankfulness in all things. That thing you see as your debilitation—God transforms into your strength.