How to Live a Thankful Life
A Short Teaching on Being Thankful
With the holidays on us, I wanted to share with you a short teaching on developing a lifestyle of thankfulness. As believers, God has called us to be a thankful people.
If you live in the United States, then Happy Thanksgiving! The next few days will be filled with family, friends, food, football, and thanks. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that commercialism hasn’t taken over. And yet, if we are not careful, we still spend much more time on food, football, and friends than being thankful.
As followers of Christ, God desires us to live a life of thankfulness. Thankfulness goes beyond Thanksgiving and should be a daily part of your life. Unfortunately, it’s so easy to get caught up in all the details of life that we forget to be thankful.
No matter your situation, you can find something to be thankful for. If you are breathing, you’ve got something to be grateful for. If you have clean water to drink and a roof over your head, you have something to be thankful for. If you can fog a mirror, you have something to be thankful for.
We all know that’s true, but it’s easy to rush through the day and forget to stop and be thankful.
Here’s a simple recipe for developing the habit of thankfulness. As you follow this plan, the spirit of thankfulness will grow and overflow in your heart. Here are five specific times you can be thankful.
Greet the day with thankfulness.
I don’t know if you are the type of person who says, “Good morning, Lord, or “Good Lord, it’s morning,” But beginning the day with thankfulness can be a great way to set a thankful attitude for your day. Now I know what you are thinking. I don’t have time to add anything else to my already overstuffed, hurried morning.
But an easy way to bring thankfulness into your hurried morning is to think of several things you can be thankful for as you brush your teeth. The average person brushes their teeth daily and spends between one and three minutes doing it. Since this is a daily, mindless activity, why not redeem that time and use it to thank God for the blessings you have received? Giving thanks for 3 or 4 things as you brush your teeth will set your mind in the right direction and mark the beginning of a thankful day.
Thank God for more than your food.
Before each meal, take a moment of thankfulness. I know many of us pray before a meal, but take a moment to stop and really thank God for one or two specific things as you pray. You can thank God for the food, the provision, and even the ability to earn a living but take a moment to stop and express thankfulness to the Lord. If you are in a situation where you may feel embarrassed or uncomfortable bowing your head, that’s alright. Just take a moment, pause, and review God’s blessing. You don’t even have to close your eyes. There’s no judgment there. Taking a moment before a meal to be thankful will keep your heart joyful for all the great things God has done for you.
So, that’s four times throughout the day to be thankful. Once while you are brushing your teeth and then before each meal.
Now, it’s time to close out the day with thankfulness.
Before you go to sleep, take a moment to be thankful. Many of us have a terrible habit of ending our day on some social media site or another app on our phone. Medical experts warn us of how staring at a screen before you go to sleep affects how long it takes for us to go to sleep and the restfulness of our sleep. Why not spend a few minutes before you go to sleep being thankful?
Some of us review the day and remember what we did and what we should have done, what others said, and what we should have said. Some of us go through a list of all the hurts of the past and the worries of tomorrow. Tonight, when you close your eyes for sleep, instead of worrying about tomorrow or reviewing all the things you should have done or what went wrong, take the time to be thankful. You will be amazed at how easy it is to fall asleep when you fill your mind with thankfulness instead of fear and worry.
So, there you have it, a simple recipe for creating a life of thankfulness. Why not try this simple practice today and go through the end of the year? You may be amazed at the effect thankfulness will have on your attitude, your heart, and your life. The Psalmist said in Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. When you practice thankfulness, it becomes a natural part of your life.
Let me pray for you. “Father, I pray you will build a heart of thankfulness in every person who is listening. I pray they will try thanking you 5 times a day, and I pray a habit of thankfulness will become a natural part of their life. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.”
If you enjoyed this short teaching, take a moment and share it with a friend.
Have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving.
Billy Taylor
Thank you so much for sending this in addition to your daily emails! These are easy ways to grow my heart to be more thankful! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! May God’s blessings and joy overflow on you all forever! And thank You God for Your wonderful gift of Jesus!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well. I appreciate you and everything you have brought into my life and I am thankful everyday. II praise good everyday for the people I am surrounded by as well as the things we have. I love starting my day of with “The Dailey Promise”. Thank YOU!
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. Thank you for this reminder to make thankfulness a consisyent part of each day at any time