One Sunday, a Sunday School teacher asked her class what they were thankful for. One little 8-year-old boy blurted out, “I’m thankful I wear glasses.”
This struck the teacher as odd because most boys didn’t care for wearing glasses. So she asked, “Now why is that?”
The boy answered, “Because it keeps the older boys from fighting with me, and it keeps the girls from kissing me.” What a great attitude to have.
Is There a Right Time to Give Thanks?
Are you having problems being thankful this year? There is no question it is easier to be thankful when things are looking up than when they are heading in the opposite direction. When the job is good, family problems are at a minimum and the savings account has enough to allow survival for 6–12 months, even carnal Christians can say, “God is good!”
But did you know that even when things are not going so well, God is still good all the time? Over the last year, we’ve seen poor performance in the stock market, corporate layoffs, wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters and a slow economy.
Sometimes the perfect natural and spiritual storms come together to cause even the most tenacious believers to struggle with maintaining an attitude of thanksgiving. An example of this would be Joseph, whose brothers disowned him and sold him into slavery. (Genesis 50:20)
One jailbird, the Apostle Paul, and his friend chose to sing praises instead of singing the blues in prison. (Acts 16:25) His experiences included being shipwrecked and finding himself at one time beaten almost to the point of death. (2 Corinthians 11:25) But despite it all, he sent a message to some friends and asked them to “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
A Look Can Go a Long Way
Here’s what I have found: if you look at your circumstances, they will keep you too busy to see your blessings. If you focus on your blessings, often you will find that your circumstances are not that bad! Sometimes legitimately bad situations occur, such as the awful terrorist attack against Israel just a few short weeks ago. The point I want to make is this: if we dwell on the bad, we will never gaze at the good. Regardless of how bad our experiences may have been, if we look hard enough, we can still see some good.
Paul explained how we can do this. He simply said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5) Having this mindset doesn’t mean we will not have problems. It will not make us super-spiritual. Just remember, people who are truly thankful don’t have much time to complain. The explanation for this is they have found a reason to be grateful.
Matthew Henry, who wrote a full Bible commentary, was once robbed. The thieves took everything of value that he had. Later that evening, he wrote these words in his diary:
I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed before. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. Although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.
Commentator Matthew Henry
If you still struggle with having an attitude of thanksgiving, remember to “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2) It is things above which overflow with the blessings of the Lord.
Article by Dr. L.W. Edwards
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