Living thankfully

Several Christian writers have helped me see the endless possibilities for thanking God.

Most Christians know that God deserves thanks.  Above all, followers of God should thank him for bringing us into his family and assuring us of an eternal relationship with him.

Having an "attitude of gratitude", as one television preacher calls it, is good for our own emotional and spiritual well-being, too.

But, I confess that I sometimes run out of specific things to show my gratitude to the Lord.

Is giving thanks important to God?

Yes, indeed.  In Luke 17, we read that Jesus healed 10 lepers and only one returned to thank him.  

Jesus remarked: "Didn't I heal 10 men?  Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

So I should be thankful.  But for what?

The short answer is - everything.

I can think of one category immediately - personal blessings.  I can thank the Lord for my wife and children and grandchildren.  I can thank him for good health.  I can thank him for a comfortable life.  And I could go on along this line for a while.

John R. Bisagno, author of The Power of Positive Praying, divides personal blessings into physical and spiritual blessings.

He says we should not forget God's physical blessings that we take for granted - such as being able to walk, talk, eat normally, think, see.  We should remember that some people can't do these things.  And even if we have physical problems, we should be thankful for the physical abilities we still have.

Bisagno goes on to mention other things we should be thankful for - our homes, our possessions, our furniture, our cars, the food we have.

Then, of course, there are the spiritual blessings we have each received.  

"Thank him for Himself, for His Son - for His life, death and resurrection.  Thank Him for your own personal experiences with Him, your own salvation. Thank Him for the Spirit of God who led you to Him and the person He used."

Thank God for his leadership in your life, his joy and his peace.

Bisagno goes on to suggest thanking him for the churches we belong to - the church staff, the pastor, the volunteers, the people we know.

Then, we can thank the Lord for all the blessings we share with others - the sunshine, the beauties of creation.  And we can even thank him for things that many would not consider blessings - rain and snow and great heat.  Because each has its own value in creation.

Another writer, Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts, kept a list of things such as the sun shining on a field at the end of the day.  She treasured these everyday things - and important family things - and wrote them down.

She says it changed her.  She became more content and joyful.

Being thankful pleases God - and does us a world of good.