The challenge now that the Thanksgiving holiday has passed is to maintain an attitude of gratitude.
Ephesians 5:20 (NKJV)
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I want you to notice the first three words in our Success Scripture this week. Giving thanks always equates to giving thanks every day for all things. This means every day can be a Thanksgiving Day! I also want you to notice that our thanks to God is to be presented in the name of Jesus. In other words, we are to give thanks for the finished work of Christ.
Have you ever noticed that we tend to relegate certain things, such as a typical Thanksgiving dinner, to certain times and seasons? There is nothing wrong with saving turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving Day, but we must be careful not to assign times and seasons to the “attitude” of thanksgiving. In other words, every day should be Thanksgiving Day. This is confirmed in Ephesians 5:20.
The word “Thanksgiving” is really two words: the word “thanks” and the word “giving”. Therefore, thanksgiving includes adopting and maintaining – adopting an attitude of giving thanks always and maintaining an attitude of gratitude. Thanksgiving includes adopting an attitude of giving thanks always and maintaining an attitude of gratitude.
I understand that giving thanks always isn’t easy sometimes, so I want to give you three steps that will help you adopt an attitude of gratitude:
First, take some time and write down three things that you are truly thankful for. Perhaps it’s something as simple as being able to spend time with those you love enjoying a delicious meal. Perhaps it’s something as simple as receiving encouragement from your friends and family. Perhaps it’s something as simple as recognizing there’s someone you’ve never met praying for you; namely, Jesus is alive and He’s praying for you!
Second, write down three things you are believing God to do in your life. There are things in your life that God can fulfill in ways you may never know. God loves to show off His miraculous power in your life according to Ephesians 3:20. Always remember, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask, think, or imagine according to the power that works in you!
Third, make a decision to adopt and maintain – adopt an attitude of giving thanks always and maintain an attitude of gratitude. Many times we know something in our minds, but we don’t really believe it in our hearts. This decision will move you from knowing to believing to experiencing!
Thanksgiving is over, now what? Answer: Maintain an attitude of gratitude!