Estes Echo
A Mindset of Thankfulness
It is such a blessing that we are able to experience the thanksgiving season. We cherish the time spent with family and friends, and we focus on the things in life that we should be thankful for. What a great practice it is to count your blessings as it is said, but what about a thankful mindset as a daily practice?
More often than not we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, and we forget the good. We are so surrounded by a world that does not have the same Godlike viewpoint. Our thoughts turn to sadness or heartache, and we are most often faced with an ever-popular media output of constant news that outlines the horrors of humanity. It is no wonder that we need to set aside a day like Thanksgiving to be thankful. However, the Bible speaks of our need to be set apart from the world, a peculiar people. A thankful attitude is one way that we can separate ourselves from our world. First Corinthians chapter 1 verses 4-5 say, “ I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.” Paul here is telling the Corinthians, who had their fair share of challenges, that even amidst all the strife and trial he was still mindful that because of the gift that Jesus gave to the world he could still be thankful. Paul was not only thankful for the gift of the cross, but also thankful for his Corinthian brethren. Too often we get wrapped up in what someone might have done, or their past, and we forget they are God’s children just like we are.
In this season of thankfulness, I challenge us to be the kind of thankful that sets us apart from the world. “Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will]” (I Thessalonians 5: 18). We have an opportunity on a daily basis as God’s people to show the world that we are the light of the world, given a holy mission to seek and save the lost. Our spirit must always remain thankful even in the times we think we cannot, because it is through our thanksgiving that we glorify God.
Psalm 118: 1 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Let us remember that as Christians, we don’t need a season to be thankful. We have the opportunity through Jesus to thank God each and every day. The question that we should be asking ourselves this season is, “How thankful to God am I daily?” I think once we can answer that question with sincerity we will really be able to grow in spirit and in truth.
–Steven Marise
