Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1Thessalonians 5:18

Gratitude, Maryland is a speck on the map right on the Chesapeake Bay.  We have friends who had a home there, right on the water.  When we would visit, our host always told us that we were to arrive with an “attitude of gratitude.”  God’s creation of sun and water combined with the hospitality of friends made this an easy rule to follow, even with small children in tow.

As November comes to an end we face shortened daylight hours, making the days seem a little gray, Christmas shopping needing to get done really soon, and a few health challenges as we get older. At the same time, I am blessed in a myriad of ways. I am trying to maintain an attitude of gratitude.

The basics of my life are good and solid.  I believe God’s promise never to leave nor forsake me.  I know that He will be my refuge and my comfort when I need Him.  He is my ever-present help in times of trouble.  What more could a woman want from her God?  In His righteous sovereignty, He is sufficient for all my needs.

I am grateful for his temporal blessings as well.  God has abundantly provided for us with regard to personal comforts.  He has given me a husband who loves and provides for me.  I am grateful for my children and their spouses, and grandchildren, who remind me why God wants us to cherish the family.  He has given us extended family on both sides who we love, more family. Add to this a family of believers who have become as close and important to us as our biological families, and I can see I have nothing to complain about.

Spiritually, God has blessed me with His Word, good teachers, and other women who want to know and live it. Iron does sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).

All in all, gray days or not, God has given me, and all of His people, many reasons to adopt an attitude of gratitude and to tell the world why:  He sent His Son to give us a way to know and be known by the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. He was a substitute, taking the punishment for my sin and yours. He is the only One who can redeem us from the grave by forgiving our sin.  Above all of this, when we have a saving relationship with Him here, He offers us the hope of heaven forever to look forward to.

So, though we are to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18), at this time of Thanksgiving we should take the opportunity to get specific.

Do you have an “attitude of gratitude”? Will you leave me a comment giving God the glory for what you have to be thankful for?

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28-29).