Always give thanks.
Now, that's hard.
To be grateful is easier, but giving thanks is harder. Giving thanks is a grateful declaration. It's easy to think, 'oh, God knows how I feel, he knows my heart, I don't need to tell him EVERYTHING I'm thankful for'.
Well, actually, that's not what the Bible says. It encourages us to be, 'giving thanks always and for everything'.
Giving thanks is important.
It's a recognition that God is very active in our lives, He puts things together, arranges those 'coincidences' (I like to call them God-incidences!) that bless our lives.
We should be grateful people. God is alive, active and accomplishes so much for us, through us and in us.
Giving thanks helps us to recognise our dependence on God.
We can rely on Him for the everyday necessities and the big visions that we have in life.
It's so easy to think that we are responsible for our success, pay rise, or it's just good luck that things happen to fall into place.
In those situations do you thank God? God has given us talents, money and favour so that we can have those surprising and beautiful blessings in life.
The much more difficult part to this verse is the emphasis to, 'always' give thanks. Sometimes we don't feel like it, can't see much to be thankful for and a having a genuinely rough time. Even then, God says we should give thanks.
What for?
I encourage you to spot the small things. Whether it's a hug from a friend, a lovely flower or a bright sunny day, or even the fact that there's a few pence left at the end of the week. Noticing and appreciating the small things can help us through the hard times, it can lift our eyes to where they are meant to be. To recognise that we are not alone, we have one who gives so bountifully even in the awful experiences of life.
I would like to challenge you, give thanks for something, even the small things each day.
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