Pearls of Thanks

Every day when we wake up we have a choice to make. Are we going to be grateful for what God has given us? Or, are we going to be dissatisfied and spend our free time focusing on what we don’t have. This goes far beyond materialistic items. In fact, it relates to every single aspect of our life. Our health, food, family, friends, work, and our home can either be something that we are grateful for or something that we are dissatisfied with.

Some of us have personalities that move us to look at the glass half empty.  Others of us naturally focus on the good in our lives and even tend to feel uncomfortable around glass half empty people. No matter which way you tend to go, there is always room for more gratefulness in our lives. If we work hard on being more grateful then our hearts will change and we will begin to feel more joy.  

We can learn from Moses in Numbers chapter 11 about the importance of how and to whom we complain to. What do you think happened when the Israelites complained to each other about how miserable they were? Nothing happened. However, when Moses complained to God about how miserable he was, God helped him and lightened his load.

When we feel dissatisfied with anything in our life, whether it is the amount of money in our bank account, the behavior problem our child has, or our jobs that we don’t like, God wants to be the first person we talk to about it. Our friends and family cannot solve our problems but God can solve any problem. There is nothing wrong with going to our loved ones for advice; however, it’s best to come to them after we have gone to God.

God can help us solve our problems and He can transform our minds so that we start to notice and feel our blessings over our hardships.  When we truly trust in God and believe that He alone can supply all of our needs then we will feel gratefulness, contentment, peace and joy. 

We can practice being more grateful by thanking God every day for all of the blessings He has given us. When we go to God in prayer with our complaints, let’s also go to God with gratitude for the blessings He has given us, for his wondrous works, for His unconditional love, for the people He has put in our lives and for His Grace. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 13:28).

In a few short weeks most of us will be sharing a meal with those we love and thanking God for all that we are grateful for. On this day, we don't dwell or complain about what we do not have, but instead we praise God for what we do have. What if we lived every day like it was Thanksgiving Day? How would our attitudes, our perspective, our faith and our contentment with life be different? I’m going to give it a try….will you join me? 

Use #pearlsofthanks to share on social media what you are thanking God for each day. 

Heavenly Father, Where do I begin? I could spend all day every day thanking You for Your many blessings. Forgive me for those days when I ignore Your blessings and instead focus on things I am discontent with in this world. You alone will supply my every need. I trust in You. Amen.