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THE ART OF THANKFULNESS

Hey friends, how are you today? Wow! Can you believe we are almost through with the first six months of the year?   Six months already, I can’t seem to wrap my head around that number.   What have I done during these months?  I know our world has certainly had its share of changes, but what about me; what have I accomplished? I will have to figure that out, perhaps review my ‘Wanna Be’ list from the beginning of the year.  What about you; what have you accomplished?  Have there some been joyful, jubilant occasions? Perhaps a few times of frustrations and failures? Throughout these times of distress, perhaps on some days, you responded like I do, at times; with anxiety or worry or even misery and anguish. 

Very few of us enjoy being around dissatisfied people; people who complain about everything and everyone.  They find so little joy in life and sometimes are quite happy to share their discontent with anyone listening. We are almost always listening, because getting a word in is practically impossible.  Most of us would choose not to spend time with unhappy and ungrateful people.  Next on that seat are the passive aggressive people.  They say everything is fine, life is good, BUT…  they blame others, or things, or circumstances, for everything  wrong with their world.  Taking responsibility for their circumstances, their behaviors is a foreign concept. I know you can think of at least one person who falls into either of theses categories. Maybe that person sounds too familiar?  What are we do to do with such individuals?  

Wellll… I would hesitantly say that we have all been one of these individuals at one time or another in our lives.  Thankfulness is hard to come by when we are actually going through difficulties. Most of us desire that the Lord rescue us from the emotional, financial or relational pain and “please Lord, do it quickly”. It is almost or should I say, impossible, to be thankful throughout our trials and tribulations.  We sometimes start off desiring to be thankful, but if the situation lingers, we find out quickly that ‘long suffering’ isn’t a natural trait we possess.  It is hard to be thankful because our present situation has overwhelmed us; we are sinking under the weight of our burden.  We go to the Lord and present our petitions before Him, but this situation is so consuming, that we have forgotten to be thankful for our blessings.  I have done it; I have been there. 

Here is a list of a few things I’ve tried and can guarantee does not work!  Here is what NOT TO DO:

  1. Disbelieve or distrust the promises found in the Word of God (Psalm 27:13,14)
  2. Forget to count prior and present blessings (Psalm 78:7)
  3. Envy others their allotment  (Hebrews 13:5)
  4. Feel entitled or deserving of God’s favors (Isaiah 44:27)
  5. Try to handle or fix problems in our own strength (Proverbs 3:5,6)
  6. Believe that this trial is more difficult than another person’s. (Matthew 11:28)
  7. Allow the trial to consume every thought and conversation (Hebrews 9:7)
  8. Bring troubles to friends rather than the Lord. (I Peter 5:7)
  9. Continually take back burden from the Lord by being anxious and worried (Philippians 4:6)
  10. Give the Lord a time frame to answer prayer (Isaiah 44:31)

There is a song sung by Bill and Gloria Gaither, entitled ‘Bigger Than Any Mountain’.  It is a good remainder of the power and majesty that belongs to the God we serve!  Here is the chorus to that song; if you know it, sing along 🎶 🎶 🎶

bigger than all my problem 

bigger than all my fears 

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or can not see

bigger than all my question 

bigger than anything 

God is bigger than any mountain that I can or can not see

How are you today? What have you accomplished these past months? What will you do differently these upcoming months?

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55 responses to “THE ART OF THANKFULNESS”

  7. Yup I struggle with 5, 7, and 8 on that list!! Lately though I’ve been trying to focus on thankfulness and not complaining so much. I want to be a joy for my family to spend time around and being thankful helps to encourage a positive and happy attitude within myself and spreads to others!
    Great post Brenda!!

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  8. You are so right, Brenda–gratitude and praise provide a huge impact on our lives. We are happier people when we’re thankful to God and admiring all that he is and does. Thank you for that list of what NOT to do. I’ve no doubt been guilty of all them at one time or another. P.S. You and I were on the same wave length this week–I wrote about the garment of praise God wants to give each us (Isaiah 61:3)!

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  10. “It is hard to be thankful because our present situation has overwhelmed us; we are sinking under the weight of our burden. ” – this is so very true. A new thing I have been learning is that gratitude is not a optional extra during prolonged hard times, where it’s one thing after another, or one thing continuing on, with no end in sight. I have lost so many friends during the prolonged hard times and I wonder if I became the person who shared it too much with people and not enough with the Lord. Regardless, I am blessed to have many people in my life still – some old friends and some new, sharing the journey with me and I have vowed to myself to be more concerned with the journey they are facing than in giving all the details about my own.

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  14. In your post: “I would hesitantly say that we have all been one of these individuals at one time or another in our lives.” lol, go ahead and proclaim it boldly, dear sister. You are so right. It is much easier in hard times to slip into the flesh, to allow our fears, anxieties, and lazy tendencies to take over. It is hard work to take up the responsibilities God gives us. And it is too easy to forget the blessings that obedience reaps. I am grateful to our Go of Mercies, Who blesses every obedient step we take, even the baby steps.

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  15. Thank you for the reminder that God is bigger. I have been struggling with depression lately because of all of the upheaval in the U.S., but God has been telling me to wait for Him to act and then your post reminded me that He is bigger. Thank you, thank you, thank you for obediently listening to and following His leading.

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  17. Unfortunately I have tried some of those things on your list too. Yep, they didn’t work! I’m so thankful our God is bigger than anything. Great post, thank you Brenda. 🤗

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  22. I’m about to reveal my OCD! We (my husband and I stuck here together at home) started #PandemicProjects to make our stay at home more interesting. We have laughed, we have challenged each other, but really we’ve mostly had fun and done some things that needed doing, and accomplished a lot. In fact, I can tell you all about them in detail, but I won’t (you’re welcome!). As an OCD list maker, my hubs laughed at me at first, but during a project he has come to me for dates and details. (Me smiling!) we are about to embark on our biggest #PandemicProject of them all, it took a long time for us to get there but as frustrating as it has been, I now see the Lord in it, and I thank Him for guiding us to the right contractor. God is good! “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” I Corinthians 14:33 ESV I love this verse! God bless you!

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