I want my life to be “full” of “thanks.” Thankfulness is a key factor in moving out of difficult situations in life. Thankfulness says something about your life especially when you are a follower of Christ. The most important thing thankfulness does is admit that God is in control and you are not. You are not saying you enjoy pain, but that you trust God enough to say thanks for the opportunity to learn something about yourself that has the potential to make you a better person. Pain, sickness and generally things that feel harmful in life can be seen as one of two things; OPPOSITION you can fight or OPPORTUNITY you can embrace. Thankfulness focuses your thoughts and attitude on being grateful and is a key ingredient in God seeing that you are ready for a change in life. True thankfulness is not being thankful to try and manipulate the situation to get what you want, it’s taking an inventory and appreciating the things in life that help make you the person you need to be. I want to be a thankful person in all situations so people will want to be around me, listen to me and be changed by how I feel about a relationship with Christ. People who complain and are not thankful in life repel others and make a reputation for themselves that is generally negative and not good. When I was really sick with my eye I didn’t know how to be truly thankful for possibly going blind, losing my job and becoming a huge burden on my wife. I really believe this was because I didn’t know the difference between being thankful FOR pain and being thankful IN pain. Thankful FOR pain is not what God asks from us but he does want us to learn to be thankful IN pain. Keeping our eyes on Jesus and not worried about the circumstances that cause us discomfort. On this thanksgiving day don’t just say you are thankful, but really take an inventory of your life, thank the people who have helped you in life and thank God for the oppositions you have in life that can become your greatest opportunities to become stronger in every way.
Holy Crap 