Be Thankful From The Heart

22 Nov

“He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart.” ~ J.A. Shedd

I have shared with you before how important I believe being thankful is.  However, today, on Thanksgiving Day, I think it is important to contemplate giving thanks just a bit further.  Perhaps it could best be summed up by saying: “there is one thing to say ‘thank you’ and another thing truly to be thankful.”  In other words, sometimes, our thanks to others is only from the lips instead of from the heart.

However, if we are truly to be thankful, our thanksgiving has to come from the heart.  The only way that can happen is if we are fully aware of what we have received and if we are humble enough to realize that what we have received is gift and not just our due.

God has given us so much.  How deeply do we render thanks for all we have received?  Do we just give Him a quick “thank you” or do we really mean it?  The proof is in the pudding.  If we really mean our “thank you”, we will be a changed people.  We will be living a different kind of life.  We will be concerned about the well-being of others.  We will love.  We will forgive.  We will live in peace and harmony with others.

Those are all ways to prove that we are thankful.

Words do not cut it.  Actions are what it is all about.  When you give thanks to God today, make a firm decision to live a more committed life.  Your good and loving actions will please God more than your words.

FAITH ACTION:  Render due praise to God today for all that He has done for you and pray for those who live without and feel they have nothing for which to be thankful.