Gratitude – A Way of Life

With it being the Thanksgiving season, it’s one of the best times to again reflect on the many blessings God has bestowed over the past year. This year has provided me with too many things to choose from when I think of blessings and expressing gratitude. I’ve been blessed with parents and siblings who are in relative good health. I’ve been surrounded by good friends and loyal co-workers. I’ve been protected throughout the year during travel and going back and forth to work. God has opened doors for me spiritually and professionally. 

The more I line my life up with His word, the more He blesses me and the things I touch. He has promoted me in ways I could not have anticipated. But that is who God is and what He does. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isa 55:8-9). He has a plan for us and when we consistently show our gratitude to Him, acknowledging Him as Lord, He will direct our paths (Prov 3:6) – to the destiny He chose for us. 

While gratitude to the Father should be our focus, since we are to be thankful in all things (1 Thes 5:18), we should also be thankful to those around us. God places people in our lives to serve special purposes and we should make sure to show gratitude to them as well. Gratitude brings hope and remembrance of what God has already done in, through and to us. 

As we continually praise Him (1 Thes 5:16), He continues to show up for us. When we acknowledge Him and our need for Him, we open space for Him to show us who He is and show others through us. God deserves our thanks all the time. Even when things are not going the way we think they should, God is faithful and He is good. That is why gratitude and thankfulness need to be a way of life for us. They are not about our feelings – we can feel however we feel. Gratitude is a matter of choice. What do you choose?