A Good Habit

"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, . . ." (Psalm 92:1-2 NKJ)

One of my parishioners told me he was happy that our church emphasized Thanksgiving. “Generally,” he said, “everyone focuses on Halloween and Christmas ignoring Thanksgiving in between.” This “holiday” has so much competition that sometimes real gratitude gets lost in the shuffle. Prosperity, family celebrations, and the good life tend to lessen the emphasis of gratitude, but the historical emphasis of Thanksgiving comes out of adversity and difficult times.

Our greatest expressions for giving thanks have usually occurred after circumstances so debilitating one wonders why there was gratitude instead of bitterness. An unknown author wrote, “It would be wonderful if we could forget our troubles as quickly as we forget our blessings.” Perhaps this unknown author has discovered the issue. Our troubles and sorrows sometimes overwhelm us so much that we forget to be thankful for all our blessings.

A good habit, though, is to give thanks in the morning and in the evening. Such a routine of gratitude will insure that our blessings overwhelm our troubles and sorrows. Henry Ward Beecher wrote something along these lines, “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; But the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessing.” It is truly amazing how a joyful song about God’s blessings will change our attitude. A good habit is to maintain an attitude of gratitude!

Dear Father, thank you today for blessings known and unknown. Inspire us to sing praises to you all day long and declare your faithfulness every night. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

Form the good habit of thanksgiving today,