“With Thanksgiving”

By Hal Brady

A minister asked his mother about her friend. His mother replied, “Why, son, she has been trying to die for years. Every time I see her or hear from her she will say, ‘I’m so glad to see you. But I probably won’t see you tomorrow because things are mighty bad. I don’t know that I will be here.’”  And then the minister’s mother added, “Son, if that woman ever worked as hard to live as she works to die it’s amazing to think how she might have enjoyed life!”

In these two women we see two different attitudes. The first woman is focused on dying and all that’s negative while the second woman, the minister’s mother, is focused on enjoying life and the positive. While we cannot always determine what happens to us, we can determine how we respond to what happens to us. The question is will we be negative and complaining and focus on the minuses or will we be positive and determined and grateful? 

“With thanksgiving,” Paul advises us in life (Philippians 4:6). The choice is ours to make.

Albert Einstein once put the choice like this: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” During this special thanksgiving season and always, I want to cast a vote for being positive and determined and grateful. For a few minutes, I want to focus on gratitude. 

First, gratitude is rooted in God! G.K. Chesterton, the brilliant journalist, once remarked that the worst moment for an atheist is when he/she feels grateful and there is no one to thank. Gratitude is rooted in God, someone to thank. How often have we heard, said, or sung it: “Bless this house! Bless this nation! Bless this mess! Bless you! Bless me!” But the psalmist in his superior wisdom says, “Bless the Lord.” So, what does God really want from us? He doesn’t want merely hymn singing, though that is fine. Nor does he want only prayer, though that too is fine. What God wants first and foremost is a thankful heart.

Second, gratitude is remembering! Memory - it really is God’s gift to us! Our memories are our personal, interior “photo albums.” These albums are our personal archives of mementoes of the great things God has done for us. It is with good reason that scripture exhorts us to remember. You see, forgetfulness withers the muscles of praise and gratitude, so we need to be most careful to “forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). Recently, I read an article in “Time” magazine about John Grisham, the well-known author. The article was written by Molly Hall and was about the successful writing career of Grisham. Though Grisham has written 48 No. 1 consecutive best sellers on the New York Times list, the thing that made him was “The Firm,” of which he has sold 7 million copies. Grisham describes his success very humbly “as a series of lucky breaks for which he is grateful.”  In his gratitude, Grisham remembers.

Third, gratitude is recognizing that God remembers! The psalmist says, “He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). To be sure, life is fragile and finite. The psalmist compares us to a flower that flourished and then quickly fades away. Each of us is only a generation or two away from oblivion, from being forgotten and unknown. But Glory to God! The psalmist declares that we are not forgotten by God. “God remembers!” His infinite love completely covers the shortness of our lifespan. And that alone becomes the claim to immortality. Because God remembers, there is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. And with Christ, everything changes - life, death, the cemetery, even the coffin, everything! 

And all because GOD REMEMBERS!
 
Dr. Hal Brady is a retired pastor who continues to present the Good News of Jesus Christ and offer encouragement in a fresh and vital way though Hal Brady Ministries (halbradyministries.com).