1 thessalonians 5:16-18 // thankfulness

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 declares.

Often times I find that people in today’s world – myself included – tend to only go to God when it is convenient for them. When a loved one is sick or you need to do well on a big test coming up – we turn to God through prayer. I am not at all saying that is a bad thing; we should go to God whenever we want & need. But I think one thing that people struggle with is going to God when we do not need help with something.

We get so caught up in the things that we want in life, that we forget to thank God for what we have. There are so many people throughout the world who are happy when they find out where their next meal is coming from or where they are going to be sleeping that night. According to stats from the Hunger Project, one out of nine people in the world does not have enough to eat. An estimated 795 million people are starving to death while we are praying that we will be able to get that Apple watch or the newest iPhone.

The point that I am trying to get across is that we tend to get distracted by the things that we want when we should be thanking God for everything He has given us. You can still obviously pray to God when you are struggling – Lord knows I have – but try not to get caught up everything you do not have. Instead, thank Him for everything He has given you. Thank Him for the roof over your head, for the shirt on your back, for hot food on the table, for the amazing family & friends He has blessed you with.

I personally want to thank God for everything He has given me. He may not have provided me with everything that I have asked Him for, but that is because He knows what is best for me – even if I am not able to see it. Lord, thank you for putting everyone in my life, even if they were not in my life for long. Every single person I have met has taught me a different lesson that is to be learned in life. Thank you for making me just the way You wanted to: short, laughs at everything, understanding, compassionate, gets angered a little too easily, quite sassy; but most of all, thank you for making me, ME.

I want to challenge you to reserve a time to focus on all of the good in your life; whether it be on a break at work or before you go to bed – just a little bit of time. I want you to come up with a list of 10 things that you are most thankful for. After you come up with this list, either write or speak a prayer to God for each item and tell Him why you are thankful for that person/place/thing. I hope doing this opens your eyes to focus on all that we have rather than all that we do not have.

Although you may have a hard time seeing it, God has given you so much.

xoxo, Linds

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Today’s Christian song is: Every Good Thing by The Afters. This song shows that although we may take for granted everything we have, every good thing comes from the Lord.

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