Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

Are you an appreciative person? When I say appreciative, I don’t mean in a general sense such as when the cashier at the grocery store hands you your change for the groceries you just purchased and you generally reply “Thank You”. Or when you receive a birthday card or present on your special day and you reply the same. I’m specifically speaking of living a life of thankfulness and gratitude each day for what God has done in your life and for the blessings He has supplied you with. It’s so easy to live from day to day and lose this mindset and attitude if we’re not careful. If we get so caught up in our daily hustle and bustle, in our jobs, in our activities, even in our family life. There’s nothing more than the enemy wants to do than to take your eyes and focus off of who Jesus is in your life on a day to day basis. Remember, he comes only to steal, kill and destroy all that God has made blessed and made good. The key is to continually offer up with a heart full of gratitude and to be content in every circumstance of your life. That is why the apostle Paul tells us in the opening scripture that it is God’s will for us to be thankful “in” all circumstances not “for” all circumstances.

I’m sure you know what the word depreciate means. That is, to lose or diminish in value over a period of time. But with the word appreciate, hence being “appreciative”, the value just continues to grow and blossom when you take on this mindset and make it part of your daily routine and purpose. Personally, I really do strive to set this as part of each day from the time I rise til’ the setting of the sun each evening no matter what I’m doing. When my feet hit the floor each morning, I usually verbalize, “This is the day that You have made God, and I willfully choose to rejoice and be glad in it”. Then when I’m in my truck on my commute to work each morning, I’m thanking God for the job He’s blessed me with, the skills, abilities and knowledge He’s given to me to do my job, for my family, our home, my health,…the list goes on. Then throughout my day, I’m continually just offering up praises of thanksgiving, whether it’s at work, mowing my grass, helping my wife clean house (take note men). You see friend, it goes so much deeper than just an occasional thanking the “man upstairs”. Scriptures also tell us in Psalm 107:1, Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

And what about being showing appreciation at work, around your co-workers, at home with your families, in your day to day appointments with others. Living a life of thankfulness and appreciation so enriches your life all the way around. There might be some that will say, “well, ole so and so is never nice to me” or “what have they ever done for me?”. I can surely relate to that but you know what, there was once a time in my life when God loved me and demonstrated that love through Jesus first to me, long before I ever knew it. While I was His enemy as a sinner living for His adversary, satan in the world. But thank God, He never gave up on me and kept pursuing me with His great love until I was back Home in His arms again.

So my friend..why not today purpose within yourself to begin living a life of thankfulness and appreciation to God and the world around you. I can promise you, it will radically change your life for the better.

For His Kingdom,