A Story Of Thanksgiving

Many people are going through life just “holding on”, waiting until Jesus comes. They are letting the day-to-day grind steal their joy and the song in their heart. They are just maintaining and not flourishing in life.

I want us to go through today and look at how to put that song back in our life. How we can put that non-steal-able joy in our hearts, and constantly have a Song of Thanksgiving resonating from us.

We can be certain that problems are going to come in life. If we are waiting to be happy, content, or joyful when our problems are gone; we will be waiting our whole life.

We have to begin looking at what is right in our life. We have to look for things to be thankful for in our lives. Problems are going to happen, we can be certain of that. Sometimes they are small problems like a flat tire, running late, or a fight with your spouse. Sometimes they are big problems like illness, death, financial difficulties, or a marriage on the rocks. But if we allow the problems of our life to weigh us down, defeat us, and affect our demeanor; then the enemy is winning.

God said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. If we allow the problems of this world to control us then we are participating in self-defeating behavior. We will go around with negative attitudes & we will look for reasons to complain. You also will fill your mind with self-defeating thoughts, negative music, TV shows, or movies. You will also associate with people that feed into your complaining or gossiping routine.

Let’s go through and observe some key components that we can implement in our lives to get back a song of Thanksgiving in our hearts, and live the life that God intended us to live. To put that song of thanksgiving back in our hearts we must first:

I. Let go of the Past

If you made mistakes in your past or someone has done you wrong you must let it go or the past will deplete your energy emotionally, physically, & spiritually. When I think of someone who had to let go of his past in order to move forward and live the abundant life that God had in store for him, I think of Paul. Paul himself writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 9 & 10, “ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

God will forgive you, and He will do amazing things in your life if you will let Him. We are the ones holding our lives back by not forgiving ourselves. The bible reads in Psalm 86:5, “For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in Loving kindness to all who call upon Thee.” You can’t change your past. You have to take whatever steps necessary to get past what has already been done. Maybe you need to make peace with God. He is ready and willing to forgive you. 2 Corinthians 7:10 reads, “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance that is without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Maybe you need to make peace with another person, maybe your harboring those seeds of bitterness because you feel they “did you wrong”. The bible reads in Mathew 6:14, “For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” And in Ephesians 4:32 the bible gives us instruction on how to deal with one another, “ And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

II. G.I.G.O. - Garbage In-Garbage Out philosophy.

You can’t expect to plant weeds and grow sweet smelling roses. Likewise, you can’t plant seeds of bitterness, gossip, and self-defeat and expect to reap joy, happiness, and a song of thanksgiving. Along that same line of thought what we listen to, what we watch, and the people that we associate with will affect us. What we let in our hearts and minds is what we will get out.

If we listen to praise and worship music or hymns while we’re driving to work or school, guess what you’ll be humming all day. On the other hand if your driving to work or school and the last song you heard before you shut off your car was, “Your no good, your no good, your no good, baby your no good”- guess what you’ll be humming all day!

If you’re always looking for the negative at your job, at your home, or at your church, guess what you’re going to find - the negative! The point is we must allow positive, uplifting, and praiseworthy thoughts & actions to surround us at all times. The bible instructs us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

III. We must carry ourselves as Christians.

We must not go around looking like somebody just ran over our dog, even if that is the case. We must know, and let others know, that we are children of the most-high God. The victory is already won. We are victorious! The bible proclaims in 1 Corinthians 15: 54 & 55, “But when the perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that it is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory, O death where is your sting.” That is a reason to have a heart of thanksgiving and an unexplainable song in our heart!

I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving and I truly hope that you have a blessed Christmas season!

-Jeremy Shea Leech