With Thankfulness to God

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

─ Romans 8:28 NIV

When we commit to thank God for everything – no matter what life brings – we invite His joy to the forefront of our hearts to overcome resentment, bitterness and disappointment. It’s difficult to be thankful and bitter in the same moment.

It’s not that we are to thank Him for evil, but instead be appreciative and grateful that He carries us through the most challenging and difficult circumstances (James 1:12). We are not thankful for the hurt, but grateful to Him for the forte He provides us to be able to endure it (2 Corinthians 12:9). We trust Him through it all for His unbreakable promise for all things to work together for our good because we love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Surprisingly, even when we are not thankful for the situation we face, we can pour our hearts out to God, knowing He knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands us. We can grieve, experience pain and still be thankful to Him for who He is and how He loves us through it all.

Here are several ways to display a heart of thankfulness:

• Recognize God is at work, even if you don’t see it.
• Daily choose to be humble by submitting yourself to His will.
• Display an attitude of gratitude.
• Express thankfulness to others.
• Serve others.
• Count your blessings aloud in prayer to God.

Today’s One Thing

Choose one of the ways listed above that you can display a heart of thankfulness this week. Act on it one to three times each day.

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