Some Thoughts On Being Thankful

By: Gary L. Hutchens

​     This Thursday is, of course, Thanksgiving Day.  What a great day, and what a great purpose behind it!  A day when families typically get together and enjoy one another’s company around a special meal.  A day when people are more easy with one another, nicer.  A day when people think about their blessings and the Giver of those blessings.  A day when people take time to pray and give thanks for what they have.

​     Of course, Thanksgiving Day is not the only day on which we should be thankful to God.  We should be thankful and express our thanks to God every day, for He blesses us daily.
     We tend to focus a lot on negative things in our lives.  Perhaps it’s because they sort of jump up and grab our attention.  It’s hard to ignore being really sick, breaking a leg or contracting some life threatening disease.  It’s certainly not a laughing matter to learn that your car’s transmission is shot, the kids need braces, your roof is leaking or your company is downsizing and your job is being eliminated.  Yeah, those kinds of things tend to grab our attention.
     But what about the myriad of positive things in our lives?  The sun rose today.  We had a bed to sleep in last night, a roof over our head and heat or air conditioning to keep us comfortable.  The electricity is on, so the milk was fresh this morning.  And how about that hot shower, wasn’t it refreshing?  Most all of us will have plenty to eat today, and just about every day for that matter.  Most of us will have a job to go to tomorrow that will allow us to earn a living.  There are people in this world who love us, and what a blessing that is, especially for some of us!  The truth is, if we sat down and made a list of all the supposed negative things in our lives, and another list of all the blessings, the blessings would far outweigh the negatives.
     But there are people for whom the holiday season, for one reason or another, is very difficult.  They may be away from loved ones, or they may have lost a loved one and especially feel that loss during this time of the year.  They may be experiencing serious illness in their family.  Or they may be facing financial difficulties at the present time.
   Those of us who are so blessed would do well to be aware of these special people and go out of our way to try to encourage them and brighten their holidays.  Even small gestures can mean a lot to somebody who’s feeling down.
     The greatest blessing anyone can have is eternal salvation.  We Christians have already received that blessing.  The most wonderful thing we could do for somebody this holiday season would be to share the message of salvation with them.  Anyone who is living a faithful life “in Christ” is rich!  We are meant by God to share these spiritual riches with others.
   Let’s purposefully think of someone with whom we can share the gospel message this holiday season.  I am always thankful when something spurs someone to think about God, and people seem to think about God more readily during this time of the year.  Let’s take advantage of that fact and reach out and talk to them about the greatest of all of our blessings, our salvation through Jesus Christ.  Then they too can have the greatest of all blessings and experience the greatest reason to be thankful...