Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
Do you give God thanks for the mundane and everyday areas of your life? Or, do you choose to wait and thank Him for the larger miracles and/or answers to your prayers?
I once read of an activity a pastor did in his church where he asked everyone to list their prayer requests and their needs to God, and then to bring them to the front of the church. He then asked them to list all of their praises and what they were thankful for, and to bring that list to the front of the church as well. Afterwards, the pastor pointed out there were many leaving prayer requests but not as many leaving their lists of praise and thanksgiving.
After reading that story I asked myself the question, why? Why do people more often than not go to God with their requests but not go to Him with their thankfulness and praises? One of the reasons given in the story was that some felt they didn’t have anything big happening to them at that moment so, they didn’t think about praising God for just the mundane happenings in their lives.
This made me think, do we need to have something big happening in our lives, for us to praise and be thankful to God? Or can we be thankful for the little things; the beautiful happenings in our lives that occur on a daily basis and, which we usually take for granted?
As children of God, may we never just get excited to praise God for the large answers to prayer or the huge miracles. May we seek to thank Him and give praises for the seemingly small life occurrences and blessings as well. May we get in a habit of daily praising and thanking God for every aspect of our lives. If for nothing else, just the mere fact that He kept us through the night and we awoke to a brand new day.
Now, truth be told there will be times in life when we do not desire to praise God due to perhaps our present circumstances. However, despite the down period you may be having, look up and around and see the blessings of God. May we not get in the habit of only praising God when we “feel” good.
As we move forward in life, may we not wait to only give thanks at a certain time of year, or only for large miracles, or depending on how we feel. May we joyfully praise and thank God at all times, in any and all circumstances.
Blessings,
Angélique
To contact: Angelique@21stcenturygodlyliving.com