What are you thankful for?
Wait a minute! It’s only September and you are already talking about thankfulness? Thanksgiving is more than two months away!
Ok, you are way too on-the-ball to think that thankfulness is limited to the holiday set aside for it, but I wanted to make a point. (As opposed to all the other posts that have been pointless).
It’s good—even crucial—to cultivate an attitude of gratitude no matter what time of year it is. It’s important to nurture thankfulness no matter the circumstances in which you find yourself.
But I had a different thought during my “back porch” time this morning. That’s how I’ve come to think of my time of personal reflection, prayer, study, and worship—even though it typically happens in my rocking chair in the living room.
The metaphor is that God has invited me to this special time each day to sit on His back porch and talk about how I explore His big backyard in a way that honors Him and restores my soul.
(Click on the “Your journey starts here” button on the right sidebar to get a free copy of my eBook On God’s Back Porch)
My reflection this morning came during reading one of my favorite chapters in all the New Testament—Colossians chapter 3.
Here’s the verse that caught my eye this morning: “And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
Here’s the sentence that put my brakes on: “And be thankful.”
What is this thankfulness of which the Apostle Paul speaks?
Is it a response to blessings—being thankful FOR something? Is this the time I start counting my blessings?
Is it a state of mind—consciously choosing thankful thoughts? Is this the time I deliberately ponder the goodness of God rather than the ugliness of the world?
Is it a state of emotion—feeling thankful? Is this the time I am really thankful down in the depths of my heart?
Is it a testimony—saying thankful words? Is this the time when I use my voice to influence the thinking of other people?
All of those are good, proper, and necessary to focus our thoughts, align our emotions, and motivate our actions.
But here’s the breakthrough thought for me: Thankfulness is a state of being. It is a choice about the kind of person I will be.
“And. Be. Thankful.”
Thankfulness is a state of being. It is a choice about the kind of person I will be. Click To Tweet
He doesn’t say (in this specific verse) to be thankful for anything, to have thankful thoughts or feelings, or to speak thankful words. He says to BE thankful.
If I embrace the call to His peace and let it rule my heart (like the beginning of Colossians 3:15 says), I will not simply express appropriate thankfulness. I will be a person who is defined and identified by thankfulness.
The peace that comes through alignment with Christ and the thankful identity are intricately woven through the tapestry of our lives. Yeah, those lives—the ones that matter to Him.
Be thankful and be amazing, my friend.
