I love Thanksgiving. A day that focusses on being thankful, and being with family. (Not to mention all the yummy food!) There are so many benefits of being grateful. It is certainly something that we want to practice more than once a year. In fact, giving thanks can be a daily rhythm. When you are intentional about going through your day and giving thanks it increases your joy and contentment. When you practice being grateful and writing down what you are thankful for, it increases your awareness and you begin to be thankful for very small details. It shapes your perspective. It is actually God's will according to this verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Giving thanks in all circumstances - that can be really difficult when the circumstance is not one you want to be in. When you lose a loved one to cancer or a car accident. When you struggle with depression or anxiety or watch those you love struggle. What would change if we would give thanks for those circumstances? It would probably look a little more like what the Psalmist was able to write in Psalm 119:71 "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statues."
Recently I was reminded of an old hymn because of a video someone posted on facebook. (some good from social media) It was such a sweet video of an elderly woman named Esther talking with her daughter about prayer. At the end of the video she quotes the hymn from memory. It inspired me to look up the hymn and also commit it to memory. The title is "He giveth more grace" written by Annie Johnson Flint.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing -
The Father both thee and thy load upbear.
HIs love has no limit. His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
Whether your burdens are great right now or not, whether you are feeling weak or strong, being reminded that we can give thanks in all circumstances because out of His infinite riches in Jesus our God giveth and giveth and giveth again. May your heart overflow with Thanks, today and every day!