Thankful

This is Hans Schild from the finishing well podcast on finishing well. We help you make godly choices about Medicare long-term care and your money. Your chosen Truth Network podcast starting in just seconds. Enjoy share but most of all, thank you for listening and choosing the truth. Podcast network. This is good Truth Network encouraging prayer, God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything, and encouraging prayer Dr. James Banks authored the best-selling and many other books on prayer provides weekly biblical insight help you learn to mom and now well Thanksgiving is coming up and talk about the rarest of things really thankful heart. Robbie really well if you listen the news lately yeah yeah so what you think about this and you're right you're right. There's a lot of bad news out there, and as a result a lot of key people. Exactly. And that's what I said it's kind of the rarest of rare things. What are you thankful for so many things and honestly. Where do I start.

I could list off any number of them, but something more important than doing that, you know, just making the list because exercises like counting sheep and after a while you know you're just naming things without really thinking about what whereafter most of all is in the list thankful heart right and I remember a time that I had a family member in the hospital and then I had to help another family member move, and when I got home that night like three in the morning that he was off and I was all set. It used to be my process. It was I was in the habit when I would just list all the things I was thankful as I started my time with the Lord. And so as I started listing when I was thankful for that morning.

I was like I'm not alive. I'm thankful for the release to get it was like to below zero outside. We had no heat and I was like God.

I'm just not there. As all of a sudden as I was drinking my coffee in my warm blanket. It occurred to me that my family member had live and and how loving the people were in the hospital and all of a sudden I had this unbelievable like oh God please get like oh man do I have stuff to be thankful for. How did I miss this. How did I miss this you know but I love looking up a bunch of make it that way and this is where prayer comes in because we saying on thankful for my wife and my card, my kids, it just it doesn't go far enough. We need to take that next step like you get there and say thank you God for my life in my car and my kids eat, even though that may seem like just a small switch. It makes all the difference because again sincere thanks always involves a relationship right someone does something kind for you. You want to thank them just like you wanted to thank God for that circumstance would that person the hospital personally from the heart. Nothing else will do. So true because God is the source of everything good in our lives. Thank you in person anyway. Placing all that in perspective it's it's pretty humbling really, because if not careful, you know, we take it for the good things in yeah that makes me think of words that I think it's in Deuteronomy where God tells his people, you know, you might say my power. My hand produced this well for me. But remember the Lord your God because he's the one who gives you the ability to produce well. So in other words, every blessing in your life you know it really comes from him and and that's the important starting point. If God keeps us alive every three moment he's the source of everything good. Talk about this because I think more people have trouble being truly thankful they care to admit.

It's easy to sizing negative things are happening our lives in. If not careful it really just consumes yeah yeah like it did for you that night, especially going through a crisis and swear I think that what's most important isn't just to counter blessings but but to take a moment to thank God, just for himself. Think of first hustling. It's five, where it gives us his challenging advice. Rejoice always pray continually give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus, and really honestly hear those words we think that you can't but what makes it possible are those keywords in Christ Jesus. And if we run to him. He helps us with this right that's for your heart is focused. Everything God has done for you and him. I mean you can be really thankful that's really the source of everything in that passage. I just really love that idea of being thankful for God himself, rejoicing or praising God because he is everything yeah yeah and this is so important for spiritual help.

Sometimes we really have to do it by faith good to take that step because you know you say Lord I can see what you're doing in my life right now but I know you're so good.

Father stay close to you on the cling to you in this moment more we learn to do this and just well on his goodness.

It's like borrowing money from God. You'll never have to pay back your dwelling on the riches of his goodness that are inexhaustible. Your your accepting by faith he lavished his love on you no matter what you might not see it in the moment, but it's coming. And I like the Puritan William Law said that you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness. That is, that's awesome.

I mean, it really is something about thanking God because let's say that you're in the worst moment like I was in the hospital situation and you let him invite hanging onto the truth that he is good even though the world seems so broken just by letting them and that moment is like me think some happens in your heart. Yeah yeah that's the beauty of it is meet you there and he gives you the strength to get through and he carries us and I think that's that's really the ultimate secret to giving thanks. It's not just lifting stuff, listing stuff off. You know you need to put more heart in your Thanksgiving just thank God for God straight to the source loving for who he is and and thankfulness flows out of that because you you'll see in a fresh way he will help you to help you understand that he really is worse of everything lives so true.

Well let's conclude our time by doing that right and asking God to help us do it more so. Jesus, thank you wild in the season, especially a private that we would see the abundance of just who you are and that our hearts would just be full of like the love that you've given us and that we could return it you like James talked about that idea of drawing on the riches there. Help us to see this in Jesus name. Hear more from Pastor James by visiting the website.

James bank.org or by visiting these church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you to pray.

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