In the month of Thanksgiving we often see a societal shift toward gratitude. We see thankfulness challenges and friends penning gratitude notes on social media. What a refreshing respite from the less fortuitous offerings we often see in such places.
At the same time, we have been around this block a time or two or forty. Maybe you have made lists in the past or inked notes on construction paper leaves with your kids. If you are looking for some fresh ideas to delve deeper into gratitude, here are some ways I am pursuing Him in this season.
Ask God for eyes to see it
It is amazing how much I don’t see. Lost in the busyness of life I miss so many details it is embarrassing at times. My husband loves to remind me of the Sunday morning he decided to shave off the beard he had been sporting for months. As we walked in the doors of church a friend saw him and immediately announced, “You shaved your beard!”. I was as shocked as anyone.
How had I not noticed? I blamed the chaos of getting kids outfitted for Sunday service, but the truth is I get that kind of distracted on a daily basis.
I am asking God to slow my stride and give me eyes that take notice of the blessings I so easily overlook and take for granted,like a husband who is continually forgiving of his often un-observant wife.
Ask God for ears to hear it
Are you catching a pattern here? We’re tuning our senses to see and hear him. Isaiah gives God credit for that very thing, “The Lord God has opened my ear..” (Isaiah 50:5).
Why wouldn’t we ask him for that?
This very moment I hear the low hum of the dishwasher and the slow stirrings of children waking to a new day – grace I rarely (ever?) notice. Tune my ears, God, to hear provision and grace. In both the loud and the quiet, help me recognize Your abundance here and respond with thanksgiving.
Remember it
I am always stunned as I read the Old Testament and see generations moving to and from the Lord. It’s heartbreaking. But we aren’t left without reasoning. Over and over throughout Scripture we see the command to remember.
Life is hard and the forgetting is real so we must strive to be consistent and intentional about remembering. David does this both continually and beautifully in the Psalms.
O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare your wondrous works. Psalm 71:17
I will remember the words of the Lord; surely I will remember your wonders of old. Psalm 77:11
He has made his wonderful works to be remembered. Psalm 111:4
Proclaim it
As we mature, our gratitude must mature with us. As we grow in Christ, know His love and understand His goodness, our faith in Him begets an entirely new form gratitude. We begin to see the work He does in suffering, His compassion when the sun isn’t shining. And we form the courage to thank Him for who He is and what He is doing, beyond what our eyes can see.
Corrie Ten Boom paints a beautiful picture of this in The Hiding Place when she and Betsy enter a new concentration and a whole new level of horror, part of which includes filthy bed mattresses rife with fleas. As they bow their heads to give thanks to God in the most horrid of locations, Betsy challenges Corrie to give thanks for all things – including fleas – a thought Corrie can barely stomach.
But she chooses to humility and courage and thanks God for fleas. Later we learn that these flea-infested barracks are what kept the guards away and allowed Corrie and Betsy the freedom to read the Bible and minister freely to the women among them.
I hope I have courage to give God thanks for the fleas He is currently using brilliantly in my life.
Practice it
Gratitude is practiced. With thoughtful intention, we can condition ourselves to develop a habit of gratitude. We can train our minds to see the good, see the One who is greater, and give thanks for it. And the best part? It’s contagious. Our gratitude is tangible; it will show. And it will spill onto those around us.
The world around us is rife with opportunity to complain. Are we more prone to complaining or giving thanks? Could we turn our complaints around? Could we trust that God is using all things for His glory and thank Him for it, bravely?
Give us eyes to see it, God, and ears that hear Your provision here. Gives hearts and minds that remember all You have done and are doing; let us not lose sight of Your faithfulness. Give us the courage to proclaim Your goodness even in the darkest valley believing that You are good and You use it all. Help us develop a habit of thanksgiving, help us practice praise because You alone are worthy. Amen
