Thanksgiving flows naturally from the grateful heart, and the grateful heart needs no excuse, no holiday, and no incentive to give thanks. Thanksgiving becomes a natural part of living; it is breathing in and breathing out. Giving becomes an act of receiving.
The grateful heart understands that we are all as little chicks, mouths opens, waiting to be blessed, constantly in need of our daily bread.
The grateful heart understands what Paul meant when he asked, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”[1]
The heart of a grateful person does not think to boast of what it has—it gives thanks with the deep understanding that life itself is a gift. Grateful people are NOT different, in essence, from other people; but they realize that for some reason they have been given what others do not have—and give thanks.
I have had the honor of spending time with grateful people and can testify that they do not all wear the same clothes, make the same amount of money, or share the same ethnicity. They come in various shapes and sizes, but what grateful people have in common is an acute awareness of their own “poorness of spirit.” They understand that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights …”[2]
Knowing they are poor in spirit, they are thus rich in praise. Grateful, they are eager to see EVERYONE blessed; a grateful heart is a giving heart. Grateful people believe God when He says, “See if I I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”[3]
“Praise God!” says the grateful person.
“You there, come eat, I must make more room for God’s blessings!”
Today, be grateful and “test God.”
[1] 1Corinthians. 4:7
[2] James 1:17
[3] Malachi 3:10
He says “If I will not…” The if makes all the difference. So what’s being said is actually that He will. It’s also in the form of a question. This adds more confidence to it.
Kind of like when you tell a friend, “see if I won’t do it” You’re actually saying with greater confidence that you will do it.
I think the big pic here is that if we give all we have to the Lord, and I do mean ALL, without hesitation or wavering of any kind, He will not hesitate to pour out blessings. These blessings will be in multitude beyond our comprehension because let’s face it, most people cannot give any part of themselves without some form of hesitation (doubt), and therefore we have not seen this amount of blessing. Can you imagine the blessings we would receive if even one small group of people could get together and be COMPLETELY compassionate. Giving like their children would die if they didn’t. It’s a hard road though and it’s hard to find people who are not dependent on the world. As a matter of fact I still haven’t found even one.
I like this. And I agree. I am a little confused by:
“Knowing they are poor in spirit, they are thus rich in praise. Grateful, they are eager to see EVERYONE blessed; a grateful heart is a giving heart. Grateful people believe God when He says, “I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”[3]
I don’t understand the “not” before “throw open” in this context.
I am thankful for the blessing of your thankful heart. 🙂
“You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.” Ps. 45:2