Well the season of giving thanks is coming to a close. But really if we belong to Jesus we should be grateful every day. Our practice for giving thanks should not be only for the month of November. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the emphasis we put on it. But I hope and pray that in my life, it is just emphasis and that I will use it as a springboard to remember to give thanks daily. I want my thanks to be daily and intentional.
Jesus is our ultimate example of how we should live our lives and I have found in scripture a few times that we know that He gave thanks. He gave thanks when he fed the 4000.
“He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” Matthew 15:36
And when He fed the 5000.
“Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.” John 6:11
He thanked the Father when for giving understanding.
“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.’” Matthew 11:25
One of my favorites is when He thanked the Father before raising Lazarus from the dead.
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” Luke 11:41-42
Jesus, heart was always in tune with the Father’s. He knew that God knew His heart, yet he verbalized His thanks for the crowd.
And Jesus gave thanks at the Last Supper that He shared with His disciples.
“And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took break, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” Luke 22:17-20
My point here is this. Jesus gave us an example of verbalizing our thanks. That it is a good example for others to see, but I think it is also good for our own soul. I told you the other day about writing down my thanks. I have a journal a friend gave me a few years ago and while I don’t write in it every day any more, (I need to start back) I do pick it up occasionally and just write down something I am grateful for. I call it my Blessing Journal. I am up to 1762 right now and my plan is to fill the whole book up with blessings that He has given me. Blessings like.
118. A beautiful sunrise this morning that I almost missed. Thank you for drawing me outside.
180. Sitting on the floor playing with my grands.
646. Conversations with my son.
1029. Morning Kayak rides.
I love looking back and reading some of my simple blessings that make up my life and I hope that Jesus smiles on my gratitude when I do the practice of it. And I like to think too that it helps me to be grateful for this life that He has given me. Even when it is messy and it may hurt at times, and I find myself longing for the next stage of it. I can be grateful in the here and now and it helps me to remember to be intentional about giving thanks.
Restore 