“Thankful”

I find many reasons,

To praise the Lord today,

As I sit here drinking coffee,

Before I’m on my way.

I thank Him for the sunrise,

For with it came new grace,

Mercies always faithful,

For running this day’s race.

I praise Him for the loved ones,

My kids, grandkids, and wife,

My brother and my good friends,

Who’ve been loyal in my life.

I thank Him for my calling,

The work He lets me do,

I thank Him for our country,

The red and white and blue.

Praise God for the Christians,

For all the congregations,

The Church Jesus is building,

In every generation.

I thank Him for good horses,

I’ve ridden and still ride,

I praise Him for old Texas,

It’s where I now reside.

But most of all for Jesus,

Salvation full and free,

My name He wrote in heaven,

To live eternally.

I’m thankful that He’s coming,

He’ll split the eastern sky,

And we will praise forever,

With the angels bye and bye.

And finally I praise Him,

For the gift of a new day,

I know we’re one day closer,

To when we’ll fly away.

”Be thankful in all circumstances…” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT)

All means all, not just good times. Hard to do when life challenges, and sometimes we forget to do it when things are good. Why is it important?Fundamental to our understanding of God is that He is worthy of praise. We should because of that fact alone. In Him we live and move and have our being. But “ought to” is not the final answer. You see praise overflows because we want to. We feel thankful, and if we feed rather than minimize that feeling, we will develop the habit of thankfulness, Our lives become a rehearsal for what we will do forever. Faith worships…always.

Lord, teach us the habit of thankfulness, in Jesus’ name.

(Art by Don Weller, donweller.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.)