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We should always do our best to show our gratitude when we are the recipients of a blessing. No matter how big or small the kindness that was shown to us was, we should respond in an appreciative manner letting the giver know that we are grateful for their kind gesture and that we are thankful for their time and effort to be a blessing to us. It is very simple to show our appreciation when someone blesses our life, but many times people forget to show their gratitude and thankfulness and they miss the opportunity to bless the giver for being a blessing to them. That should never happen. If we find ourselves fortunate enough to be the recipients of a good deed, we should respond in kind. We should let that one know how much we appreciate them, how thankful we are that they are in our life and what a blessing it is to simply know them. (1 Thessalonians 5:11-12) (1 John 4:10-12)
While it is true that many people don't seek recognition or praise for their impartation upon us, it is still within our ability to show them that they are important to us and that we love and appreciate them more than they can possibly know. Be encouraged to see how you may be able to speak a blessing to someone who has blessed your life. No matter what they have done for you in times past, make an extra effort to let your gratitude be made known. I have said many times that thinking good thoughts of others does nothing to elevate their life, but when we speak the blessing, that is when they will be lifted up. The Bible tells us in Romans 13:7 to give honor to whom honor is due. Be encouraged to go out of your way to let your appreciation be made known. Encourage the encourager, bless the blesser, lift up the burden bearer and simply let your light shine towards those who shine their lights upon us and let them know how important and needed they really are. (Luke 6:31-33) (Matthew 5:16)
I hope this message inspires and encourages your heart to not forget those who labor among you, but prefer them, honor them and show them how greatly you appreciate what they have done for you.
FEELING MORE THANKFUL
A man lay in a hospital bed worried about whether he would live or die. He called his pastor to come pray for him. He told the pastor that if he got well, he'd donate $20,000 to the church.
The pastor prayed and the man eventually did get well and returned home. But no check came to the church. So the pastor paid him a visit.
“I see you're doing quite well now,” he observed. “I was just wondering about the promise you made.”
“What promise?” he asked.
“You said you'd give $20,000 to the church if you recovered.”
“I did?” he exclaimed. “That goes to show you just how sick I really was!”
It is easy to give thanks -- or to show it -- when we feel grateful. But gratitude is not a feeling we can manufacture. Nor are we born feeling grateful.
Children are not thankful by nature. We teach them to say thanks and, in time, they develop stronger feelings of gratitude. My children could talk before they were weaned from diapers, but one thing they never said was, “Thank you for changing my dirty diapers. Dad, I know that is a messy job. I appreciate all you are doing for me.” Too bad. Sometimes I deserved a big thank you.
When they were sick, they never thanked us for sitting up with them at night. And when they became car sick at the beginning of a road trip, they never said thanks for cleaning it up. Even though their mother and I spent almost a half hour scrubbing the carpet in a convenience store parking lot at seven degrees below zero (our metric system readers will recognize that as -22 degrees Celsius), they never did say, “Gosh, you're the greatest parents ever! We are so lucky to be part of this family.”
Naturally, we wouldn't expect small children to thank their parents for being parents. And for most people, feelings of gratitude come with empathy as we mature.
But can we learn to feel more thankful? Here are three simple steps to help anybody live more thankfully and to respond more authentically.
First, recognize when a thankful response is appropriate. We take for granted too many of the things that we should be giving thanks for.
Second, spend a moment reflecting on how another's thoughtfulness makes you feel. Be intentional about this.
Then third, from a sincere feeling of gratitude, give thanks. When you do, you will also discover that you are becoming a happier person.
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth...”
Galatians 5:22-26 “...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Hebrews 13:1-3 “Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”
Colossians 3:16-17 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today's Selected Poem: WHAT IF?
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem16.htm
Today's Selected Testimony: THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony48.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
