Your Daily Devotional for July 18, 2007

 

July 18,  2007

 

 

Deciding to Be Thankful

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."

 

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

 

 

A few years ago, I saw a Peanuts cartoon that pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy's dinner on Thanksgiving Day. His dinner was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the dog food and said, "This isn't fair. The rest of the world today is eating turkey with all the trimmings, and all I get is dog food, because I'm a dog." He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment, then said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey."

 

Many times we can focus on the negative and not realize that things could always be worse. God has blessed us so much, yet we can fail to thank Him for His blessings. As we see in our verses today, Paul gave thanks for the church at Thessalonica.

 

If there was anyone who had a lot of negative things he could focus on, it was the Apostle Paul. Paul had been wrongfully imprisoned, beaten, stoned, and left for dead. But even with all he had been through, Paul decided to be thankful.

 

Being thankful helps encourage those around us. While most people would have written about the injustices they had gone through, Paul decided to encourage the church at Thessalonica by being thankful.

 

We will never know who we are affecting when we complain. An ungrateful and complaining spirit easily rubs off on those around us. But a thankful and joyful spirit can also spread to others as well!

 

Not only will being thankful affect others, but it will also affect us! When we decide to be thankful during difficult times, it will help us focus on God and His goodness to us. While we may be tempted to be bitter or angry at God, being thankful for what He has done for us will help us during difficult times.

 

Christ gives us an example of being thankful during a difficult time. We see in 1 Corinthians 11:24, "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."  As Christ and His disciples were eating just before He would be betrayed and crucified, Christ took time to thank His Father for the meal. He could have been upset that He had to die for sinners or that one of His own disciples would betray Him, but He focused on thanking God for what He had provided.

 

No matter what situation we are in, we can be thankful! Every day should be Thanksgiving Day for us! When we decide to be thankful, we affect those around us. Being thankful also helps us focus on God during difficult times.

 

When was the last time you thanked God for all He has done for you? Christ has done so much for us! Spend time thanking Him right now. Also, decide to be thankful as you go about your day today. Let your thankfulness affect those around you and help you focus on God.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 20-22 • Acts 21:1-17

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