… always giving thanks to God the Father for everything,
Summary: Being thankful is both an experience and a choice. Paul wants us to learn an important life skill by choosing to be thankful all the time.
What are you thankful for? Are you thankful for “everything,” or just certain things?
Personally, I go through my days with a mix of indifference and doggedness. I don’t always feel thankful. Does that make me a “bad” person?
There are two kinds of thankfulness. One is the kind that wells up in us naturally. For example, you are driving down the road, and a rock the size of a shoe comes flying at you from the truck ahead. For a moment, it looks like you have to stop it with your face. It hits the windshield, and glass shatters as you slam on the brakes and pull to the side of the road.
Moments later, you notice your heart is racing, and you start to take stock of what just happened.
The car is okay except for a broken windshield. Nobody inside was hurt. Nobody rear-ended you when you slammed on your brakes. You take a deep breath. Everything is okay! You could have been killed, but nothing bad happened. You are thankful to be alive. That is being naturally thankful. You don’t have to think about it, you simply are aware that you are grateful to be alive.
The other kind of thankfulness is a conscious choice.
It is later in the day. You have had to change your plans because of the broken windshield. It took you two hours to find a place that had your windshield in stock and could install it the same day. You took a wrong turn on the way there and spent an extra thirty minutes trying to find your way. Once there, you had to sit and wait an hour before they could start working on your car. Now it’s time to pay for the repair, and you realize that your credit card is maxed out.
Sometimes it is hard to be thankful when we are in the middle of a hard place.
Trying to pay for a repair you hadn’t planned on after nearly being killed can feel like a kick in the shins. It’s not fun. Yet, a few hours before, genuine thankfulness had been welling up in your soul. What is the difference?
The difference is perspective. Walking away from a near miss assures our focus is on the most essential thing; life. Hours later, our perspective has changed, and we are thinking about our time and our wallet. Paul’s point is that we should keep our focus on God.
Of course, this is what God wants. (Exodus 20:1-7, Matthew 22:37) It is not because God is ego-centric that he wants us to focus on him. Quite the opposite! It’s because God knows we are happiest when we stop focusing on ourselves and trust in him. When we focus on God, we are reminded that we have dodged more than a rock headed at our windshield. By believing in Jesus, we are dodging an eternity of suffering that makes our worst day on earth look like a picnic by comparison.
Application: Keep our eyes on Jesus to keep things in their proper perspective.
Food for Thought: How do we keep our focus on God when our days are full of so many distractions?
Hebrews 12: 1 – 2 says: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance that race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
To keep our eyes fixed on Jesus is a conscious choice. We have to intentionally throw things off that distract, including sinful habits. Fixing our eyes on Jesus is a moment by moment decision all day long. When we realize we are failing in this pursuit then we need to deny ourselves and follow Him as a conscious decision of the will. We must be committed to the task, be in His word, be in prayer, be in fellowship , be in worship, be in service, etc. Luke 9: 23; Colossians 4: 2; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 – 18.
Thank you, Rich!
Great verses! Especially Luke 9:23 —
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Sometimes our “cross” is just saying “no” to distractions.
Great response Rich!
09-02-2023, How do we keep our focus on God when our days are full of so many distractions?
After your troubled day, you get to the beautiful B&B you have reserved for the weekend and find they have rented your ocean view rooms to another family because you did not make your arrival time. Feeling poorly you and your family find a little motel far from the beach.
The next morning you drive by the B&B and find the building was completely destroyed by a gas explosion during the night, and you realize all the previous issues were acts of God saving the lives of you and your family.
For some of us it takes a lifetime of tragic events, near misses, “why me Lord” moments for believers to begin to fully grasp, every event is with the approval of our Sovereign God, for our benefit.
Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
James 4:15, Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
Thanks Ron!
I love Romans 8:28!! 🙂