8 Things To Be Thankful For - Everything

8 Things To Be Thankful For - Everything

I Thessalonians 5:18

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

“In everything.” Did you read that? Not some things … not most things … not just the good things … everything.

I have a good friend named James. We don’t see everything the same way but we love each other. I love him because he stretches my faith. He taught me something really important about thankfulness a while back.

We were involved in mentoring a young man and James asked him if he had properly thanked God that morning for what he had. He responded by saying he didn’t have anything so how could he thank God for nothing?

I’ll never forget how James answered him. He said, “Here’s what I want you to do. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, before you even open your eyes, I want you realize what you has given you by saying ‘God, thank you for giving me another day.’”

But he didn’t stop there. He said, “Then I want you to touch your mattress. Thank God that you have a soft mattress to sleep on. Do you have a blanket? Thank God for that blanket that keeps you warm. Then thank Him for your pillow to rest your head on.”

“Then, open your eyes. Look at your ceiling and thank God for a roof over your head that keeps you out of the rain and away from the hot sun.”

“Then sit up and when your feet touch the floor, thank God for giving you a floor instead of dirt to stand on.”

He took that guy through his entire morning and taught him to thank God for everything. I mean literally everything. Water, soap, towels, eggs, toast, windows. I never thought about prayer like that before.

So, let’s get real. What about you? What are you taking for granted? Are you mindful of all that God has given you? Do you realize that the poorest families in America live better than 90% of the rest of the world?

The Thanksgiving holiday was created for the expressed purpose of taking stock of everything God has given us and dedicating a whole day to thanking Him for it. Let’s honor that tradition this holiday by recognizing how good we actually do have it. Thank God for everything today.

Can I get an amen?