The Power & Peace of Being Thankful

A seasonal message!

The Power and Peace of Being Thankful

Why is giving thanks so important? At times, we are so overwhelmed with daily life that we forget the things God does in our lives. I wrote a few months ago “that when you give God thanks for the little things in your life, you will begin to see God do bigger things in your life.” Why is giving thanks so important? Why did the Apostle Paul say, “Always give thanks, in all circumstances”? Giving thanks is not only about appreciation; it also helps us focus by changing our prayer life, giving us power, and granting us peace.

We are constantly being pulled in all different directions in our daily lives, dealing with work, family, and all sorts of distractions. As a result, we often do not notice when God helps us. So, how can we imbue ourselves with a spirit of thankfulness? By not forgetting, and a simple way to do this is to write it down, or journal it. By keeping a journal of thankfulness, we can constantly recall what God is doing, and it becomes a permanent document.

When Moses led the Israelites out of bondage, he guided his people across the Red Sea to safety. On the other side of the Red Sea, the children of Israel built an altar. It was not a normal altar used for sacrifices, but one of remembrance. They also used the name “monument” to describe the altar. God realized that the people, like us today, have short memories and tend to forget quickly. You might think that God parting the Red Sea would remain in the Israelites’ minds forever about how God delivered them from doom, but apparently not. In fact, they decided to build the golden calf only weeks later.

The altar was meant to serve as a permanent reminder of God’s deliverance, not only for the Israelites of that era, but also for future generations. Years later, when a child would see the altar, he or she would ask what it represented, and the adults would recall the story of the Exodus and God’s deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage. Along with monuments, God instituted festivals or feasts to recall God’s deliverance. One such festival associated with the Exodus was Passover, which also commemorated God’s deliverance of his children from Egypt. It shows us the importance of reminders in our lives. Monuments were erected throughout the Land of Israel, and the festivals were spread out throughout the year to serve as a constant reminder of God’s deliverance and grace. Thanksgiving also should serve as a reminder to be thankful in our lives, but at times, we get so caught up in the food, family, and shopping, that we forget to truly give thanks.

We often speak about remembrance, that the altars and festivals were to recall God’s deliverance, but we should not forget to be thankful. Although we do not build altars today in our lives, we can keep journals, which can serve as permanent altars to commemorate when God’s hand reached into our lives. Going back to my quote earlier, “When we begin to give God thanks for the little things in our lives, we will begin to see God do even bigger things,” you see how one gives thanks for what he or she has received. Thus, you must be able to recognize something to be grateful for. We teach our children to say “thank you” when someone gives them something or does something for them, but we often forget to thank God when we turn to him. Just like we tell our children not to be ungrateful, sadly, one can become ungrateful when it comes to what God does in our lives.

I shared this quote with a friend who could not see God at work in his life, so I asked him whether he could give thanks for something God did for him recently. Sadly, all I received was a blank look. I quickly realized how ungrateful he was being. I asked him, “Did you have enough to eat today? Did you have enough gas to get to work? Do you have a job? Could you pay your bills? Is your family healthy?” I challenged him to make a simple list of all the seemingly small things in life for which he could thank God. I did this once myself, and before I knew it, I had written several pages. I found that as I recalled the seemingly small blessings in life, they served as the basis for larger blessings that I had not noticed. It was then when I realized just how much God was doing in my life and just how ungrateful I had been. I kept that list and give God thanks every day for all the things He has done and is doing in my life. Since then, I have been simply amazed at all the even greater things God has done in my life over the past several years. I learned to spend time giving God thanks every day.

This attitude of thankfulness also changed my prayer life. I recall a time in my recent past when I received news that I had cancer. Instead of asking God for healing right away, I gave Him thanks for keeping me healthy all these years. I remember praying to God, thanking Him for His faithfulness during my life, and that I knew that He would continue to be faithful as He had been in the past. In the past, I would have simply prayed for God to deliver me from the illness, failing to recognize how God had delivered me in the past. Now my prayers were more prayers of gratitude, along with the certainty that God would simply continue to take care of me. Today, I am cancer-free, thanks to God’s faithfulness.

Thankfulness helps us focus on the things God has done and is doing. As we begin to recognize the little things, we will begin to see God’s hand more often in our lives, allowing Him to do even greater things. I read a sign in a Deseret Book store that simply said, “In the work of God, there are no coincidences.” Unfortunately, many of us think we see coincidences in our lives, when it’s God’s hand. We fail to recognize God at work, so His work is diminished.

I simply wanted to write a short essay reminding us in this season of Thanksgiving to thank God for all the little things in our lives that we often take for granted, and to make a list in our journals -- a list of praise and thankfulness for the things God has done and is doing in our lives. Then, when it is time to pray, begin first by thanking God for the times in the past when He provided for that need, and when you relied on His faithfulness to continue to provide for your immediate needs. I challenge you to recall the Apostle Paul’s words, to be thankful in all circumstances.

Additionally, being thankful gives us confidence and power in our prayer life. When we can look back at our lives and give God thanks for His past faithfulness, this remembrance will give us confidence when we approach God with our petitions. We are reminded that we are not to be in doubt when we approach God in prayer. The Book of James said that we should not expect anything from God if we doubt our petitions. People who doubt are tossed about like a leaf in the wind, yet when we are confident, we can stand firm against the winds of life. Being thankful for what God has done in the past will serve to give us confidence before God moving forward. Reflecting on God’s past faithfulness serves to give us confidence and power in our prayer life.

Learn the power of thankfulness this holiday season. This simple attitude change can make a big difference in how we approach life and how we approach God. It will change your life once you learn to tap into its power. A life of thankfulness will change your outlook and definitely give you inner peace as well. When you can see God’s faithfulness in the past and present, you can begin to experience peace. There is nothing like knowing the outcome of your circumstances in the past to give you peace in the present.

Looking back at my life, I can see God working in patterns. I can see all the times God provided for my needs, and I can thank Him for those times. It serves as a reminder in the present that God will continue to provide. He won’t just stop being faithful. He will continue. I hope that this short paper helps you begin to understand how you can use thankfulness in your personal life and within your prayer life. Be thankful for the things God has done, and you will begin to see God do even bigger things in your life.

I also wish to encourage you to journal. Open the Book of Mormon, and you will find Nephi explaining that he is keeping a record of his people. I often remind people that Nephi never forgets God’s deliverances, and Nephi is always reminding his brothers about God’s deliverances. I believe that Nephi’s journaling served as a constant reminder. The simple act of journaling causes us to reflect on our day, on our circumstances, and into our past. It takes effort to journal, to ponder and reflect, so it helps reinforce our memory. I tend to remind people that Nephi never forgot God’s faithful, probably because he kept a record, a record that caused him to reflect and ponder, which in time served to reinforce his memory.

Remember that as we give God thanks for the little things in life, we will begin to see God do even bigger things in our lives. As I mentioned earlier, as I made my list of small blessings in my life, I began to realize they served as a foundation for bigger blessings that I had not recognized, thereby beginning my life of thankfulness, as I began to see the power and peace associated with this new lifestyle.

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