Thankful

This morning I was in prayer and after I was done, I decided to stop and listen for God.  I began to hear Him comfort me with His word when all of a sudden I heard “Thank you”.  I stopped for a moment after wondering, was that God telling me thank you?  I have never heard of such a thing.  As I pondered on that being the voice of the Lord I felt the tug of His heart wanting to let His children know He values and appreciates them.  I thought of how His word states in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.  And Matthew 29:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. See we are cared for and loved by a good God.  All over the word of God we are taught to be thankful and show our adoration and love towards God.  And this brings me to the following scripture in John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  Here we see that everything we do is because we see our Heavenly Father doing it.  So why do we show thankfulness and appreciation towards others and God?  Because of all He has done for us.  It is an honor to serve Him because He shed His blood for us.  It is commanded in His Word to give thanksgiving unto God.  I have often heard that as we pour out our love and thanksgiving to God during worship He pours back out on us.  If God has enabled us to be thankful, appreciative of what He has done for us, do you think that He is thankful and appreciative of what you do for Him?  Not that we deserve a thank you from God for surely we are nothing without Him or His righteousness, but I thought how we teach our children to be thankful and appreciative.  Where does this enabling come from?  Perhaps the fruit of the Spirit gives us the ability to be thankful? Galatians 5:22 says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  The fruit of the Spirit are traits of the Spirit of God.

Is thankfulness characterized by any of the traits listed? Thankful is defined as feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative. While looking up the definition of Joy, I found one to say:  something or someone greatly valued or appreciate.  Thankfulness comes from the fruit of Joy in our life, that is a fruit of the Spirit of God, that appreciation comes from Gods spirit inside of us, therefore we learn to appreciate and value Him and others through His spirit.  Though I have not found a scripture that God says thank you, I have found a fruit of HIS spirit that teaches us to be thankful.  Saying thank you comes from God so to hear Him express appreciation for all you do for Him shouldn’t feel foreign either.  He is a good God, a God that loves us and teaches us how to reflect His image and glory.  Today God wants you to know that He appreciates what you do for Him.  Many people are wounded feeling unappreciated and are burnt out in ministry, at work or in the home for lack of appreciation, but God appreciates you!  He values you and is thankful that you choose the path of Life with Him, I believe God wants you to know that He thanks you for serving Him, for walking in His steps, as He laid down His life for you, you have also laid down your life for Him, what a beautiful picture we have today.  Now hopefully this blesses your heart and makes you want to serve more knowing that you are appreciated and thanked by your Heavenly Father.  Oh How Good He IS!

Rachel Mireles