Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. For followers of Jesus, giving thanks is an essential discipline!
A couple passages of Scripture come to mind: 1 Thessalonians 5.16-18 and Philippians 4.4-6.
This is our first post in the current Common English Bible Tour, so here are the verses in the Common English Bible …
Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5.16-18)
Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. Don’t be anxious about anything; rather bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. (Philippians 4.4-6)
Great advice. Great words to live by. Sounds simple. But a challenging discipline to develop. There are no shortcuts to developing this discipline, just lotoffend lots of practice!
Heard a pastor on Focus on the Family talking about the ways he has set out to make people more aware of the importance of giving thanks. When asked why he has written a book on this topic and feels that it is so important, he responded: “We are commanded to give thanks.” He continued to describe the many benefits of giving thanks.
Later in the day I saw an article in the CDT explaining how psycologists are studying the many benefits of being thankful. Seems like they are finding out what God knew all along!
Thanks for the perspective, Nancy!