Cultivating Thankfulness Each and Every Day of the Year - iBelieve Truth - November 19, 2024
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6
As women, thankfulness is something we can choose to cultivate in our lives. We can plant the seeds, let others help us water it, and watch how God causes it to grow in our lives.
If we don’t plant it and let others water it daily, there is the very real danger of it withering away, leaving in its place rows of bitterness. If we don’t faithfully tend to it, we may wind up thankless and missing out on all the ways God intends thankfulness to bless our lives.
It’s too easy to see our glasses as half-empty rather than half-full, living in a perpetual outlook of lack, looking around and seeing things we believe, if we only had our hands-on, would truly fulfill our lives.
Yet, in this ever-changing world where natural disasters, wars, and more snatch away a lifetime of acquired possessions, along with the tragic losses of families, homes, and more, we have much to be thankful for each and every day of the year.
Ultimately, though, it’s up to us to choose to focus on what God has so graciously given us, rather than what the world gives and takes away on a daily basis. As Christians, whether or not we physically live in lack or abundance, God has given us so much to be thankful for that we have incredibly valid reasons to thank Him daily.
3 Things to Be Thankful for Every Day of the Year
Following are 3 things, we as believers in Jesus Christ, can be thankful for each day of the year
1. Eternal Life through Salvation in Jesus Christ
God gives us eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Whether we’re living in a rented room, a studio apartment, or a lavish mansion, we are the wealthiest people on earth because God has given us eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ. Nothing on earth can even compare with its value and worth.
2. Being Raised Up with Christ
“And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:11).
It’s easy for Christians to breeze over this truth, not fully understanding what Scripture means when it says we’re raised up with Jesus. It means, like Him, we are resurrected from death to new life, freed eternally from the fear of death.
“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).
As believers in Jesus Christ who are raised up with Him, like Jesus, it’s now impossible for death to have a hold on us. “But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him” (Acts 2:24).
3. The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Luke 11:13, explains how when we ask, our Father in heaven gives us His Holy Spirit to live within us, a gift where we can truly express deep gratitude for His presence in our lives.
Jesus in John 14:26, speaks of how the Holy Spirit trains us. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
As well, the Holy Spirit equips us to reach out to others with the love of God. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 explains, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone is the same God at work.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Help me today and every day to be thankful for all You have given me. Teach me through Your Holy Spirit to walk and live each and every day of the year, with a grateful heart.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Choreograph
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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