28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our ‘God is a consuming fire. Heb 10:28

Have you heard the one about the atheist who is running through the woods and is suddenly chased by the bear. As the animal closes in on him, he trips and shouts, ‘God help me’. Time freezes and he hears a voice from heaven saying to him, ‘after denying me all these years, will you now be a Christian because you need my help?’ ‘No, that would be hypocritical of me, instead please make the bear a Christian’. He opens his eyes to see the animal with its paw on his chest and its head bowed and he hears it say ‘Lord, thank you for this food I am about to eat’.

In a short machine-gun type burst of instructions in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul says, ‘Rejoice always, pray continually, be thankful in all circumstances.’ Being thankful is a healthy discipline because it keeps us from focusing on all the negative things around us. Granted, there is always something to complain about, but more importantly there is always something to be thankful for. Thankful people are happy people.

Being thankful is not a suggestion given in the Bible but a command which we are to obey. Start practising that intentionally. Right now, pause and think back over the last 24 hours and see how many things that happened you can thank God for. Imagine if you started off every morning with time devoted to give thanks to God – your life will be different.

Ultimately we should thank God for those things which are objective and not only those things which happen in our lives from day to day. The reason given in Hebrews for being thankful is since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. You and I can thank God for Who he is and he does to redeem mankind and give us an eternal inheritance. In fact, that is exactly what we will be doing for all eternity, so let’s get started. Brothers and sisters, let us be thankful!

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