Be-Cast Episode 10: BE THANKFUL
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THIS WEEK’S VERSES:
“And 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 dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15-17)
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1)
“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21)
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1-5)
- Be thankful is yadah, which means to give thanks, laud, praise. (Psalm 100:4, 28:7)
- Thanksgiving is towdah, which is confession, praise, thanksgiving. Give praise to God, thanksgiving in songs of worship, hymns of praise (Psalm 100:4, 50:14)
- Thankful is eucharistia, from the word eucharistos, meaning mindful of favors, grateful, thankful (2 Corinthians 4:15)
A MESSAGE FROM SARA:
So generally speaking when I sit to write the blog post to go with the podcast, I listen to the podcast and try to connect that context with the blog context. And so as I listen to everything that Monica, Amber, and I are talking about, it is so the truth! It really, really is. But man it is so hard to live out that truth when there are things going on in your life. In the podcast we talk about how:
- Being thankful improves our attitude
- Being thankful gives us perspective
- Being thankful provides freedom
- Being thankful is a choice and a command
But as I sit to write today, I just feel like I need to share with you a few journeys going on in my life.
As I have shared with you all before I often write in my bed. And that is exactly where I am today but because for more than just writing. I am fighting a tremendous amount of leg pain and have been for the last three days. This pain is a deep pain — bone pain, an aching. And on a scale of 1-10 it is a 15. This comes on the coattails of a recovery of knee surgery four weeks ago. And though I am so, so thankful for how great the surgery went and how I am healing, I am so frustrated for this pain and want it to go away. God, do you really want me to thank you for this pain?
And then the week of Thanksgiving we found out that someone very, very dear to me — dear to my family — has breast cancer. Really God?
We just finished watching my sweet little niece fight leukemia and praise Jesus that she is in remission and truly praise Jesus, but right now, in this engagement with this new reality, God, do you really want me to thank you for this cancer?
And so, I am faced with a dose of my own medicine on thankfulness. If I am being honest, I’m not at a place yet where I understand how to praise God for these things especially with cancer.
Now listen, there is plenty that I can be thankful for but to be thankful for everything…especially the bad stuff… is so, so hard. I will have to say that so far I am just Being in these things. I can get over the leg pain so much easier than I can the cancer.
So what do I do?
I am committed not to allow Satan to have the power over me. My perspective during this time and in all times is what will guide me. God’s promises are real and his commands for our protection. I cannot allow my feelings to drive my actions.
Feelings can be deceiving and can take us to a pit that is absent of any goodness but rather a place to cause bitterness, anger, frustration.
And my prayer for my dear friend that is now facing cancer is that God will give her amazing perspective and to know that God will never leave us or forsake us.
Barbara Epp says:
Later, while studying the first chapter of Romans I was struck by how important thanksgiving is to God. When I saw that lack of thanksgiving results in futile thinking and darkened hearts I realized that thanksgiving isn’t just a thoughtful thing we do when we feel like it. It is an attitude God has designed us for and intends for us to choose! It is vital to a healthy relationship with our Father! It is living in reality! It is choosing to believe that God’s promises and faithfulness are more real than our circumstances.
You know we talk about how the grass is green where you water it; during tough times, it’s hard to remember to water your grass. And it’s hard to remember to water it with the truth and things that will nourish our souls. And during the tough times you have to ask yourself are you watering your grass or are you just waiting for someone to water it for you?
I don’t have to love the cancer or the leg pain. But I have to believe the truth that all things work together for good to those that love the Lord…
“We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.” (Romans 8:28)
And that to everything there is purpose…
“For everything that happens in life—there is a season, a right time for everything under heaven.” (Ecc 3:1)
As for a dose of my own medicine, talking about being thankful is much easier than putting it into practice. I’m sure that I will be doing the practical applications over and over again during this time. And this won’t be the only time, because life is full of mountain tops and valleys.
But the choice is mine…be free or be in bondage. I choose freedom.
What will you choose?
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
1. A gratitude journal. Take time to write out the things for which you are thankful. It’s a morphing of our minds! Another idea is to have a gratitude box in the house where you write down things you are thankful for and put them in the box. At the end of the year, read through what you wrote down.
2. Incorporate a time of thanks into each time of prayer. This is Biblical and will also help to elevate your way of thinking.
3. More mental push-ups! Make a list of the things you think about daily that consume you; now make a list of the 2 things positive for each negative. These are mind exercises just as if you were training for a race.
DOWNLOADS:
Download this week’s printable!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
1. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. An amazing book (her writing is lyrical) that teaches how to give thanks in all things.
2. Cultivating a Spirit of Thankfulness. Excellent article from Christian Broadcasting Network.
3. The Secret of a Grateful Heart. Another great article from Today’s Christian Woman.
4. We’re Created to Celebrate Together by Rick Warren. An article he wrote for Faith Gateway.
5. Pray With Thanksgiving. Another Faith Gateway article.