Right Now

 I am in a constant state of being challenged by thankfulness. I'm challenged by my lack of it and I'm challenged by the raw power of it. I'm challenged by how quickly thankfulness humbles me and slaughters my pride and stubborn heart. I'm challenged by how God's love language is a thankful heart. It must be. Thankfulness is the only thing I find in Scripture that is the doorway to His presence, His nearness.

Thankfulness makes RIGHT NOW a sanctuary for God. It's an invitation to the Almighty One to enter this present moment...wait for it...and now this present moment. It's a glorious intrigue that pulls Him to invade my very thoughts, circumstances, failures, blue skies and dreams. Thankfulness is powerful enough to stop despair in its tracks and replace it with peace and joy and newness.

Too often I spend my thought-life thinking and chasing after the future. I'm driven to experience the next best thing or even at times to wish this season away for the next season. What I have obtained and am currently experiencing is on the less green side of the fence. There's always something better on the horizon if I can just strain hard enough to get there. Thankfulness puts me in my present place. It's a gift that allows me not to miss a moment of joy over what God is doing this split second in my life. What is spinning around me right now? I hear the birds singing outside my window and there's a very loud buzzing fly in the room with  me, which reminds me that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. He is sovereign over creation and He is sovereign over me. I just finished my Subway veggie sub, which reminds me of His tenacious provision for me. If I only live for the next best thing, I miss the thousand moments that He has tried to reveal Himself today. If I only live for the next best thing, time flies and I don't know where it went. Thankfulness stops the rapid advancement of time. It causes my mind to pause and reflect on the glory of God all around me and in me. I am a work in progress in the hand of my Maker. The progress is happening right now...wait for it...and right now.

Jesus gave thanks. When Jesus gave thanks in Scripture, it was usually in the middle of the most mundane activities - breaking bread, cooking fish. But just a few words after His thankfulness, incredible miracles took place, like when 5000-10,000 people were fed on a hillside or at an evening supper the night before He saved me through His torture and death. I believe thankfulness carries the power of heaven and ushers that power into right now.

I want to be a professional thank-er. Thankfulness is a lifestyle of worship. Here are 7 ways to keep a heart of thankfulness in your worship. 

1. Stay in the Word

1 Chr 16:34 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

This is the foundation for everything in your life, really. If you’re in the Word every day, you’ll be constantly re-reading God’s promises, re-discovering His goodness, and learning more about His character. Securing the Word in your heart will provide a foundation for thankfulness to grow and build a defense against negative mindsets.

2. Look at What God Is Doing

“The unthankful heart…discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!” – Henry Ward Beecher

1 Thes 5:18 “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Keep your focus on what God is doing, and not what He isn’t. Work on finding the good in every situation. Don’t quit praying or give up on bad situations – definitely don’t make the “needs” the entire focus of your prayer time. Always begin and end by giving thanks for all of the good things God has done and is doing for you. Whatever you focus on will grow, and whatever you’re thankful for will continue to increase in your life!


3. Praise!

Ps 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving & His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless…

Let your thanksgiving move you into praise for the great things God has done! Worship destroys enemy strongholds and breaks down negative patterns of thinking. Spend some time individually and in community, thanking God for His goodness, then praise Him for everything you are thankful for. This kind of activity will refocus the attitude of hearts and minds into a position of thankfulness. And it says it right in Psalm 100:4 – praise takes you straight into the courts of God!


4. Behold What You Want to Become

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr

Think about what – and who – you are modeling. When we spend a lot of time worrying about what we don’t want to become, we frequently end up reproducing that same thing in our lives! Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Are you setting good examples of thankfulness in front of yourself? Rather than worrying about being ungrateful, decide to look at and model thankfulness. Find thankful people to hang around. Read about thankfulness. Watch shows and videos that model a thankful attitude. Eventually, you will start to take on whatever you’re seeing most consistently modeled – in this case, gratitude!


5. SAY Thanks!

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. – James Allen

It’s important to put thankfulness on your lips – whether or not you’re feeling the corresponding feeling! Oftentimes, actually opening your mouth and expressing your thanks to God, even for something simple – the weather, a new set of violin strings, a glass of water – will start to spark an attitude of thankfulness in your heart. It’s equally important to remember to thank other people for the blessings they bring into your life! You may never know how much your words of thanks mean to someone else, but you should always give them. 


6. Write It Down

”We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” – Harry Ironside

There are a number of Bible verses in which God instructs people to write things down – commandments and instructions (Deuteronomy 6:9,Deuteronomy 17:18-20); visions, prophecies, or revelations (Habakkuk 2:2,Revelation 1:19); and even descriptions of territory to be taken (Joshua 18:8-9). In every case, the writing down was for the purpose of remembrance: God wanted His people to be able to look back at the writing and remind themselves of what He had asked of them, what He had done for them, and what He had promised them. David and Moses both wrote songs (most of Psalms; Deuteronomy 31:19-22) to remember the Lord’s faithfulness to them. Keeping a journal – daily, weekly, or even monthly – of the things you are thankful for, the things God has promised you, and the things God has done for you, is a powerful way to defeat attacks of discouragement and disappointment on your life. It’s also a powerful place to draw from for new song lyrics! If you’re ever feeling like you’re not sure what you have to be thankful for, you can look back at what you’ve written and remind yourself of the faithfulness and goodness of God in your life. Write a song about it. Sing the song to remind yourself! Lyrics birthed in an attitude of thankfulness will carry power to transform attitudes and produce thankful hearts.


7. GIVE Thanks!

”It is another’s fault if he be ungrateful, but it is mine if I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige a great many that are not so.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

There are few better ways to develop a culture of thankfulness in your own life than to help someone else who needs it – basically, find a way to give your time, talents, skills, and/or money to bless someone else. In the process, you will realize how blessed you are by the people who give to you, and how much of a blessing it is to give someone else an opportunity to be thankful.


Staying grounded in the Word, paying attention to what God is doing and praising Him for it, looking at good models of thankfulness, saying and writing down your thanks, and giving selflessly to others will all cultivate gratitude in your life. And consistent thankfulness will make you happier, healthier, and more aware of God’s goodness and all of the amazing things He is constantly doing around you – that’s really something to be thankful for!