Thankfulness

I was awakened this morning with a sense of urgency concerning thankfulness. I know that some of you may think that I am just getting into the "mood of the holidays" but I respectfully disagree. I sense that God was calling my heart back to the attitude of genuine appreciation of all that He has provided in my life. But I am not talking about the "things" from God I am talking about the true gift of salvation and relationship with Him. How long has it been since we stopped and just thanked God for our redemption? How long has it been since we just thanked God for taking a personal interest in our life and what we confront on a daily basis? I was somewhat challenged when I reflected on my prayer times and realized that recently I had spent very little time in declaring genuine thankfulness for my journey with God. I do not want to shift the burden of my conviction to you but I do want to challenge your thought process when it comes to thankfulness. Many of us are facing great challenges in our lives such as illness, financial stress, employment concerns, martial relationships, family strife, and many other heart wrenching situations. I do not have the full answer for all of those needs other than dependence on Christ; but I do believe a genuine reflection on the presence of God in our lives will offer strength and courage to continue trusting Him. We have a total of 49 days (including today) left in this year. What if every believer in America would offer God just five (5) minutes a day of genuine praise and worship? What if we left off our list of requests for these five (5) minutes and just thanked God for His presence in our daily lives? Can you just imagine the difference in our personal life as well as the life of the church in America? I believe that many of you will accept the challenge and begin to walk in the strength of Thankfulness!