Intentional thankfulness

It is human nature to notice the things that are wrong rather than the things that are right. We complain about traffic so quickly, but don’t revel in a smooth car trip quite so much. We love to tell others about bad experiences we have had with customer service, but don’t leave positive feedback when things go well for us.

Noticing the bad things comes all too easily. Noticing the good things, especially the things that are usually good, takes a bit more intentional thought.

I have noticed this in the local church. I have served as an elder in my church for a long time now. Elders often have difficult situations, either pastoral or practical, to deal with. Agendas for elders meetings commonly contain all kinds of evidence of the sin that is in the world and in all of us. It would not be unusual to have to deal with complaints about some recent event, come up with a plan to help a marriage that is under strain, and then consider the wise way to encourage someone who is struggling with mental health issues. Having to consider these sorts of things regularly can make you think that the church is entirely full of problems.

But it’s not true! Sure, there are always issues to deal with, and we are all sinners. Yet despite all of this, often we can see evidence of people growing in their faith. We see so many serving one another in rostered and more natural ways. We see people interested in finding out about Jesus and new people being welcomed. We see musicians faithfully preparing each week and service leaders doing their task thoughtfully and faithfully. Everywhere you look there is something encouraging.

Do you notice the good that is all around you? The many things our good God has provided for you? Consider these everyday blessings we often fail to thank him for:

• The Bible. God has told us what He is like, how to be saved, and how to live. We don’t need to guess at these things. And, unlike so many through church history and even in the world today, we have God’s word in a form we can afford and in a language we can understand.
• Security in Jesus. If we trust in Jesus, the future is absolutely secure. Whatever the news tells us tomorrow, that is still true.
• Freedom to worship. I know this might not be true for everyone who is reading this, but for many we can meet with other Christians. The church I am part of meets in the middle of our city, perfectly legally, and we can sing and pray and tell others about Jesus.
• Other Christians. Sure, other Christians are sinners and will offend us and upset us and frustrate us at times. But we are not alone in the world. We have been given to one another. We can serve, love, encourage, and challenge one another.

It wouldn’t take any of us long to come up with a very long list of items like this. Perhaps we should count our blessings more often, as the old hymn suggests. It is good for our soul to notice the good that is always there.