Giving Thanks

Giving thanks. Something we do as a ritual. We thank God for our food, we remember him one time a year during the season known as Thanksgiving. But what about the rest of the time? Do we thank him then?
Giving thanks is more than just blessing food. Giving thanks is praise. Giving thanks is honoring God for what he has done for you. Giving thanks is acknowledging that God has blessed you, not just with food but with other things. Do you thank God that you have a roof over your head? Do you thank God that you are healthy? Do you thank God you have clothes to wear to stay warm? or what about a bed to sleep in?
So many times we fall in to the ritual of "Lord thank you for this food use it to nourish our bodies" and that is all the thanks that we give him and that isn't even heartfelt. It is just a ritual, like saying thank you when someone gives you a gift that you don't really like. We are polite and say thank you but we don't really mean it. Just as people can see that we aren't truly thankful for something so can the Lord. After all he looks upon the heart and he knows if we are truly grateful or not.
We are told in Psalms 95:2, "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms." and Ephesians 5:20 tells us, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". These two scriptures tell us that we are to always be thankful for what he does for us and when we pray we are to always thank him. Not just at mealtimes but always for all things.
Giving thanks isn't always an easy thing to do. Its not easy to thank God when our car breaks down. But that may be what it takes to get us to witness to someone we are supposed to. Its not easy to thank God for getting sick on Monday and not being able to go in to work. But it is our faith being tried. It wasn't easy for Job to sit there and listen to everyone telling him it was his fault and he should curse God. But Job was faithful, and he wouldn't curse God. Thankfulness doesn't always come easy in the hard times, but if we praise God and thank him through the hard times then the easy times will be times of true rejoicing.
Remember the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. We must be always thankful for what he has given us even the bad things that come our way for " all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Give thanks always and have a blessed day.