Being Thankful to God Changes Everything
- meetgodattheedgeof
- Jul 4
- 3 min read
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
[5] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. [6] And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. [7] Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
There are days when I wonder what the heck I am doing. I get up every morning and repeat the same routine of spending time with the Lord, waking my kids, and then the day flies by. The next thing I know, it's already evening, and we are thinking about tomorrow. It really is a strange feeling, and it can become depressing if I let those negative thoughts creep in.
Then the Lord revealed part of His plan to me and encouraged me by giving me a day like yesterday. It started off on a negative note, full of irritation because my kids didn't want to get out of bed. I know the feeling, and they are on summer break, so I try to be understanding, but it was pushing 11 a.m. I had already been up for half the day. I started having an inner battle about what the right thing to do was.
Then I remembered what my wife had said to me. She noticed a huge improvement in our son since I've been home and spending more time with him. On top of that, my daughter and I have grown closer than ever before, and my wife and I have the relationship I've prayed for. God has shown me that I am here and in this situation for a reason, and through my obedience He is blessing my family because of it.
We went to the beach yesterday, and while we were walking, the Lord blessed me with a moment of realization. I took inventory of my life, and I was in awe of the blessings He pours out on me every single day. It reminded me that being thankful to God isn't just something we do when life is easy—it is something we choose every day.
The enemy wants us to see only what we don't like. He wants us focused on what we believe is missing. That mindset keeps us depressed, angry, and slowly develops resentment. How can anyone faithfully fulfill their role as a father, brother, husband, or friend if all they see is what they think they don't have? We can't.
Yesterday was a reminder for me to intentionally set aside time to pray prayers of thanksgiving and to get as specific as possible. Thanking God that I can still walk. Thanking God that I can still see. Thanking Him that my wife and kids can walk and see. Thanking Him that my arms work so I can hug my family. Being thankful to God changes our perspective and reminds us of just how much He has already done.
We all need this. The benefits of being thankful to God and recognizing how blessed we truly are will overflow into the lives of everyone around us.
Thank You, Father, for one more day. Amen.
Deuteronomy 6:9-11
[9] Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. [10] “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. [11] The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant.
