Be Thank-Full!

​A Thanksgiving Thought for “Worship in the Woods”

  • We don’t have to continually seek after the latest, greatest thing; instead, we should seek Christ, and He will satisfy our desires.

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you.” - Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)

  • The things of this world ultimately will not satisfy us in the way we crave. 

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it, either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. – I Timothy 6:6-8 (NASB)

  • Contentment is a way of letting go of our attachment to the things of this world, of not becoming too entangled with what is not eternal.

“Our hearts are restless until they can find rest in Jesus.” – Augustine of Hippo

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with a little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:10-13 (NASB)   

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ.  – Philippians 3:8 (NASB)

  • With humankind, enough will never be enough.
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  • There will NEVER be a time in life when everything is good and everything is bad.
 
  • No matter how stressful life may feel, we will always have something to thank God for in the end.  

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. - I Thessalonians 5:18 (NASB)

Ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. – Philippians 4:6 (GNT)

  • Prayer puts my unknown future in the hands of an all-knowing God.
 
  • Christ will supply our every need.​

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. – Philippians 4:19-20 (NASB)

  • Contentment is found in our relationship with Jesus.
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  • Contentment is solidified with transformed priorities.​

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?27 And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life’s span? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:25-34 (NASB)

  • Grateful people are simply less stressed.

         o Gratitude gets our eyes off of ourselves and puts them onto others.

          o Instead of looking at what we do not have, let us look at what we do have.

  • The degree to which we seek the approval of God over the acceptance of humankind is the degree to which God can use us mightily.


Questions for Reflection

Do you feel contentment in your life right now? Have you ever thought about contentment being strength instead of satisfaction? 

How do you differentiate between what you need and what you want? 

Have you ever experienced a moment when you thought you wanted something, only to get it and realize it didn’t satisfy you the way you’d hoped? Describe that moment. What did you learn? 

Does the time you spend worrying about and pursuing other things eclipse the amount of time you spend serving God and trying to help grow the Kingdom of God? 

How much of your time are you spending worrying about things in the future that you can’t control?