We are just over a week away from Thanksgiving! This is a time to celebrate our thankfulness and spend time with family and friends. It’s a chance to open up the heavens and spark the joy in us. Joy is sparked by thanksgiving and fuels the heart of God. This gives us the ability to see others through the eyes of Jesus.
An attitude of thankfulness isn’t a magical formula for helping yourself to a better life.
“If I just start my day out being thankful for three things or spending two minutes thinking of things I’m thankful for like the internet says, then my life will get better.”
It Is A Love Language
A love language? Yes. Try this. Go to the person you are closest to in proximity right now. Let me clarify. Someone you know… in a family gathering. Go to them and say any one of the following:
- I am so thankful for you.
- I thank God for you.
- I am thankful that you are a part of my life.
- I cannot thank you enough for what you mean to me.
Well, you get the idea. Put it into your own words. Not just with the other person, but for you, with you, inside of you.
Do this and watch what happens!
Most Will Not Do This – Will You?
It’s funny how such a simple thing, such simple words short and to the point, can be so hard to say. Most will not do this simple thing. There is a list of reasons, or better yet, excuses as to why most won’t. I get it. It is hard. After all, who wants to be vulnerable? Who wants to be the one to open up the gates with such words?
Whether it is a hardened heart, a broken heart, a soft-hearted person, or a cold-hearted person, these words open up the heavens.
The Door
The door is the door to someone’s heart. It Is A Love Language. Again, saying any of the words of thankfulness from above with sincerity will open up hearts. It won’t matter the shape or size of the heart. It won’t even matter the hardness level of the heart.
Warning
When you do this, it opens up the heart. It may or may not be what you expect. People’s reactions are somewhat unpredictable. Especially if you are opening the door to their heart. But know this, even if you don’t see the door crack or open a bit outwardly, it is having an effect.
Thankfulness is Powerful
Don’t underestimate Thankfulness. It’s not just a nicety. Imagine the impact of thankfulness on one another. It is an amazing gift. Now apply this to our heavenly Father. Apply that to our relationship with Him in our everyday life. In expressing a thankful heart to God we are intimately expressing our love to Him.
Love is powerful. Thankfulness is an intimate expression of that. So be careful in being thankful to those around you. Be careful using this with God. It might open doors of communication, love, healing, chain-breaking, forgiveness, and bonding you might not be ready for or expecting.
Psalm 118:1 NIV
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Colossians 3:17 NIV
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 1:2 NIV
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
Challenge of the Thanksgiving Season
Count ’em (a little Brandon Lake pun there). Tell seven people (just one person each day), in your own words, how thankful you are for them. And before you do that, tell Jesus how thankful you are for them before you do. Joy is sparked by Thanksgiving. So bring a spark to your life and those around you. So be it!
Check out the Thanksgiving post from 2022 from another angle and a bit of history on Thanksgiving.
