Thanksgiving

I've read this today for my daily doze of Our Daily Journey. This article inspired me..and hope you'll be inspired as much as I do so I'll post it here.

I have a friend who has a number of problems. In fact, right now it seems as if there are chains around his physical,emotional,and relational well-being. I have felt heartbroken listening to his stories of abuse, frustration, and seemingly unanswered prayers.

We meet regularly to pray about his problems. For a time, he angrily questioned God, but now he has come to realize that God loves him and has been present in his ordeal all along. As layers of the problem are peeled back, the pain is lifting. Still, there is a long way to go.

But recently something beautiful happened. Instead of pleading with God for answers and relief, my friend and I spent some time THANKING God. We let our minds run free with things to be grateful for, beginning with the food in our fridges and the clothes on our backs. We thanked God for our wives, friends and families, fresh air, colorful scenery, ocean waves, blue skies, meaningful jobs, and new opportunities. We thanked God for our cars (as old as they are), our bank balances (as depleted as they are), and recent achievements like complicated theses. We thanked God for His loving, forgiving character, and Jesus' sacrificial act on the cross. We thanked God till we could think of nothing else to be grateful for. Then we stopped--and we were changed.

We learned a lesson that day. With our minds filled with thanks, little room had been left for the problems that had engulfed us for weeks. During the extended thanksgiving session our hearts sensed the Spirit's presence and our minds were renewed by contemplating all that was true, pure, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).

There are no limits to thanksgiving. We can thank God--

- when we're requesting something

-when He answers our prayers

-for His faithful nature

-in every circumstances

Thanksgiving is a sure help in the midst of problems.