It seems that this time of year and most assuredly into next week, we think on what we are thankful for.
Here at my house we have a thankful jar. Leading up to Thanksgiving, when something comes to mind we’re thankful for, we add a thankful note to the jar. Then on Thanksgiving Day we share with one another and give thanks to God.
Being thankful is actually therapeutic it increases dopamine in your brain (the stuff that makes you feel good) and encourages your brain to seek more of the same.
We were created to cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving; we have an inborn ability to benefit from being thankful. With all that’s going on in the world around us, being thankful for something takes a diligent effort at times.
Let me take this time to remind you that “God is still on the Throne and in charge”, and He loves us. When we give thanks to Him daily our lives take on a purpose that allows light to arise, even in a dark world.
Let’s remember Psalm 118:24 most have heard it, many quote it, but not quite as many live it; “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Amen!
Rejoicing and being glad that we have a purpose today, that God is still above all and over all, and that we are alive and have brightness of mind, allows our brain to release a substance that makes us feel good, let alone the spiritual happiness this type of rejoicing brings.
The definition of thankful is pleased and relieved; this sounds like feelings of joy and being in the peace that only God can release to us through prayer, and thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6 is a great way to enter into an attitude of thanksgiving it says, “Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell Him every detail of your life.” Amen! This verse is from The Passion Translation of the Holy Bible.
If you want to have a release of happy in your life, you must cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving.
Webster’s definition of happiness is a state of well-being and contentment and joy. In my estimation, the best way to cultivate a lifestyle of thanksgiving is to be “content.”
1 Timothy 6:6 in the AMPC translation says, “and it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain” Amen!
Contentment shows God that our joy is found in Him, it shows Him we are fully thankful for His gift of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. By being content we show God that we truly believe that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and we believe that in Him we are well kept.
God commands His angels concerning us and His angels will lift us up above anything that tries to block our path to Him. When we are on God’s path we release spiritual dopamine, and that spiritual dopamine supplies peace that surpasses all understanding, a faith that can move mountains, love that never fails, and a hope of Glory! Amen!
Cultivating a lifestyle of thanksgiving produces in us happiness and a contentment that overcomes all sadness and resentment. Never look at what you don’t have, what you can’t do, or what you think you’re missing out on. By not looking at these things you are immune to sad, unproductive, and unfulfilled days.
If this is truly “The day that the Lord has made”, then let us always rejoice and be glad in it!
Say, “I am thankful for all that God has brought me through, I am thankful for what God is doing for me today, and by faith, I am thankful for the vision He has given me for tomorrow, I will rest in Him”!
Touch someone with the joy of Thanksgiving this week, help someone that needs uplifting this week, feed on the spiritual goodness of God, and be ye Thankful!
I will leave you with a Thanksgiving Blessing, “May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace! So be it. Numbers 6:24-26.
If you need a faith boost today, please leave a comment and I will prayerfully respond.
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Scriptures of encouragement and content: 1 Thessalonians 5:18-19, Psalm 118:24, Colossians 3:15, Psalm 107:1, and 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere”. God bless each and every one of us this Thanksgiving and God bless our families, in Jesus’s name, Amen.