Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:15-17 NASB

If you want to have peace in your life, be thankful. If you want to have good relationships with others, be thankful. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that it is God’s will for us to be thankful in all circumstances. I want you to envision that spoiled rotten kid. You know, the one that you are hoping won’t show up at your house for the holidays. The kid that takes the present that you got him or her and throws it on the ground and stomps it to pieces because it’s not exactly what they wanted. Well, often times we are that kid. I’m talking about me, so if this is not you, feel free to stop reading here. I know some of you are always grateful and content. But, there have been times in my life when I have asked God for things and he said no. I felt like that kid throwing a tantrum. I gave Him all the reasons why I should have it, but still he said no. In each and every case, I later found out that this was for my own good. God had a much better plan for me. I just didn’t realize it at the time. I am working on being thankful in all circumstances. I used to think how can you be thankful when you lose a loved one? Well, when my dad died I was thankful that He was with Jesus and that he was no longer suffering. He was healed and made new. God had saved him five years prior to his death so I mourned him, but I couldn’t be selfish about it. I had to admit that I was happy for him. I had to be thankful to God for all that he had done for my earthly father.

God gave us his one and only Son in order that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). But often times we fail to be thankful. We choose to focus on the things that we want but have not gotten. We are told in Philippians 4:19 that God will supply our every need. This doesn’t mean everything we want, it means everything we need. No matter what is going on in our lives, we should be grateful that He supplied a way out of death. He supplied His Son, Jesus to save us from our sins. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. This means we are all headed to hell in a hand basket, but God has provided a way out for us. He has given His one and only Son. If we believe in Him we can be saved.

Yesterday on K-Love they spoke of the science of gratitude. Yes, it’s an actual study, you don’t have to take my word for it you can Bing or Google it like I did. But they have discovered that it does us a lot of good to be thankful. Science has proven our scripture passage, pretty neat, huh?

According to a study posted by Karen Young on heysigmund.com, gratitude is powerful. It can improve general well-being, increase resilience, strengthen social relationships, and reduce stress and depression. The more grateful people are, the greater their overall well-being and contentment. This study has shown that thankful people also have stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, better sleep and better waking. They tend to be more alert, more generous, compassionate and happier. Grateful people also have been shown to have a greater capacity for joy and positive emotions. Gratitude squeezes out negativity because you can’t be thankful and negative all at the same time.

Being thankful doesn’t mean that we turn a blind eye to all that is wrong, it just means that in the midst of all that is wrong we are able to see what is right. In Philippians 4:8 we are told to focus on whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report. We are told that we are to meditate on things that are praiseworthy and are of any virtue. Focus on the positive. Focus on Jesus.

I like to say that my head is not in the sand,  I am well aware of the growing evil that is all around us. My head is in the clouds, I am also well aware of who is in control. I know God’s got this. I know that because I love Him and serve Him, that He protects me and will be my shield and refuge in a dark, evil world. I am so grateful to Him for that and the fact that He gave His son to die on the cross to save a miserable sinner like me.

So, if you make Oscar the Grouch look kind and compassionate, maybe you need to practice some gratitude, it does a body good.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!