Another Year of Choices
By Barbara Dahlgren
When the Israelites were getting ready to go into the land God had promised them, Moses told them they would prosper. They would have food, shelter, money, livestock, and just about anything they could desire. Then he cautioned them not to say, “my power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth,” but to remember “the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth…” (Deuteronomy 8:17, 18)
That’s a caution well worth heeding. Yes, we may work hard, and on the surface it looks like we earn our reward, but our effort would be in vain without God’s blessing. It is God who gives us the resources to accomplish and the strength to endure.
Consider this… When the scripture says, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives….” it is a subtle way of saying, “Give Him thanks!”
When the Pilgrims came to a new land, they had no illusions of thinking their survival was due to their might. Without the help of the Native Americans, they would have perished. Even then, it is said that in the first year they made seven times more graves than huts. Still, when the harvest was in they gave thanks to God. They chose to focus on what they did have and be thankful for it, instead of focusing on what they didn’t have.
So many times we pray to God asking Him for this or that. We focus on what we don’t have. Our wants and needs get blurred. As we approach another Thanksgiving Day, think about this: Saying, “Thank you” to God for what you have could be the most meaningful prayer you could ever utter.
Psalm 92:1 (KJV) “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…”
Suggestions for practicing this choice…
- Keep a daily gratitude journal.
- If you don’t like to journal, keep a running list of three things you are thankful for each day. Try not to repeat anything.
- Say “Thank you” to each and every person who does something for you. Everyone! Even thank the waiter who takes your order or the guy who bags your groceries. Sure they are getting paid to do it, but a “thank you” from you can make their jobs a little more tolerable.
- Try a little positive meditation. Each night when you snuggle into bed, don’t mentally rehash all the bad things that happened that day, focus on everything that went right – no matter how small. Even in the worst of circumstances, there is always something we can be thankful for.
- For a whole week instead of “gimme, gimme, gimme” prayers, ask God to help you remember all the wonderful things He’s done for you in the past and thank Him. One of the sweetest prayers God can hear from your lips is a heartfelt, “Thank You, Lord!”
