the Lord has been showing me a lot lately about thankfulness and praising Him at ALL TIMES. the times when we want to and the times we don’t. the times it comes easy and the times it is a sacrifice. the times that it is joyful and the times it is anything but joyful.
as i talked with a dear friend last night she shared something that happened to her and it led to reading isaiah 54.
“sing, o barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
it made me think of thankfulness. it made me think of 2 chronicles 20 where the israelites, about to go into battle, start singing praises and then God causes the enemy to fight themselves. the israelites didn’t even have to fight, they simply praised God. here He is telling them to see because the barren one will have more children than the one who is married!
i think we sometimes confuse thankfulness with excitement or enthusiasm. i think sometimes thankfulness is fun and happy and exciting and it should always lead you back to that place because it is pointing back to God. sometimes, however, thankfulness is acknowledging the Lord’s faithful work in your life and giving Him credit where credit is due. and in that moment, your thankful heart is sacrificing what the flesh would rather do: mope, complain, blame, etc.
thankfulness is in a given moment choosing to dwell on what He did/is doing and not what we think we lack or have lost, etc. thankfulness goes beyond one day a year. this is part of the call of a believer to be thankful. 1 thessalonians 5:18 says to be thankful in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.
i challenge you to begin to press into this. ask the Lord to show you where you can be more thankful. praise Him for the job you have when you would rather have a different one. praise Him for the season of singleness when you would rather be married. Childless when you would rather have children. begin to praise and thank Him right where you are and watch Him do amazing things in your heart!