#72 How to Communicate Thankfulness

Act Like Men- Men’s Leadership Podcast

Do you consider yourself a Thankful Person? This is the time of the year when all of the conversation is about being Thankful. The history of Thanksgiving did not come out of tremendous blessings. It came out of challenging circumstances, and the pilgrims believed they should be thankful regardless and the Native Americans and the Pilgrims shared a wonderful time together after coming through a difficult season.

Regardless of where you find yourself this time of the year, the spirit and the act of being thankful can change your entire perspective on your life. This is not only a great suggestion, but the Bible also tells us to focus on being thankful always, not just at the end of November.

Often I am reminded of teaching children to say thank you when someone gave them something. Do yo you remember saying to your children, “What do you say?” At that time we were teaching our children to respond kindly to the generosity of another person. But as our children got older, we did not have to prompt them as much for their words. In fact, as parents, we are pleased when our children demonstrate that they have been paying attention and applying what they have been taught. Sometimes we as adults need to take a lesson from our children and remember to be thankful in every aspect of our life.

Let’s look briefly at what the Bible says about being thankful.

1. The Lack of Thanksgiving is the Source of All Kinds of Sin

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21, ESV)

2. Giving Thanks is Commanded for Believers

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

When you examine the Greek of this verse, you discover that the verb “give thanks” is both an imperative (you must do it) and present tense (you must keep doing it continually). We should never stop expressing our gratitude.

Let’s End With a Challenge:

1. Start every conversation with God with a list of Thank You to God- not necessarily for the good things in your life, but the gifts God has given to mankind in general – His Son to pay for our sins, the joy of a new day that is challenging or not, the certainly of Heaven as a follower of Christ, “all things working together for good for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose”.
2. Be intentional in looking your fellowman in the eye and telling them an intentional Thank you for any consideration they provide – an open door, to coffee served, to food served, to work done on your behalf. People feel loved and valued when you look them in the eye and intentionally tell them you appreciate what they did.
3. Look for the good in everything that is happening in your life. While we all want this life to be like heaven – always bright and cheery – this is not heaven and we need to search to find good in some of the very difficult times that come our way and the way of those whom we love.

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