Are You Thankful For Your Cup?

"When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty,

 my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup”

I’ve been thinking about this little saying for a couple of weeks now, and in the light of our recent lockdown situation here in the NT it has really come to mind.

How thankful are we? Really? We have been abundantly blessed here in the Territory over the past year with very few restrictions and life has been able to go by relatively normal, with the occasional warnings. We have been able to meet and fellowship regularly as a church and with each other in homes and have not suffered the hardship of losing business in the industry we work in.

But on Monday, everything changed. We went into a snap lockdown, and although our business has kept on going, as we are considered essential workers, many have been side-lined for the time being.

It got me thinking about how thankful I am as a person. What does it take for circumstances to steal my joy? Do I depend on what goes on around me for my happiness? Do I crumble when life throws a curve ball? Or do I have a joy and peace that only those who know the Saviour can truly have?

Is your cup half-empty or half-full? Are you an eternal pessimist or an optimist? Or, so much more important, are you just thankful that you have a cup at all?

It’s so easy to slip into a mindset of ungratefulness and a state of misery because of what comes into our lives. We become pessimists and our cups suddenly are half-empty. We look at things upside down.

But, I have come to realise, that I don’t want to be content with being an optimist, seeing things as half-full, I want to live joyously, being thankful that I actually have a cup that can be filled.

God has given us so many blessings and we read daily of those in other countries that do not share the same religious freedoms we have or even have the freedom of travel without fear, and yet we continue to be ungrateful.

One of the most well-known verses in the Bible reminds us of one of the responsibilities we have as Christians.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV - In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Notice that the Bible tells us to give thanks IN everything. That means during. While the chaos reigns. While the hurt lingers. While the trial is in process. IN everything.

It is God’s will that we be thankful. And it is our responsibility as Christians to do the will of the Lord. We don’t have to search the scriptures and spend hours praying for God’s will in relation to this, when it is so clearly stated in this verse. Give thanks. It is the will of God.

Ephesians 5:20 KJV - Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

The verse in Ephesians tells us to be thanking God FOR all things. So, not only should we thank him IN everything, but FOR everything. That leaves nothing out. Our praise should flow from our lips continually, despite our circumstances.

If you do a quick search for the times that the words “give thanks” are mentioned in the Bible, you’ll come up with numerous verses and they are all to do with praising God.

I know these uncertain times can make us fearful and anxious and we see no end in sight, but as I look around, I realise that I am so very blessed. I am free to worship, whether on my own or with my Christian sisters and brothers in a corporate setting. I am well fed. Clothed. Housed. Surrounded by comforts. Loved. My cup truly is overflowing. It doesn’t matter whether I see it as half-empty or half-full, what matters is that I have a cup!

True gratitude is not something that comes naturally, nor is it something that is given to us at our salvation. No! It’s a choice! In order for you to experience joy, you have to make a choice. A choice to be thankful. A choice to praise. Why do you think that verse in Psalms says thanksgiving is a sacrifice?

Psalm 116:17 KJV - I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Because, oftentimes it is! Often, we find that our emotions are controlling us and we don’t ‘feel’ like being thankful. We don’t want to give God thanks for the situation we find ourselves in, and so we have a choice to make, and it is a sacrifice. We have to set aside what we are feeling in order to open our lips and give praise to God.

The journey to joy is not by getting something that we don’t have, but rather, by appreciating and being thankful for the things we do have.

We daily get better than we deserve because of God’s mercy and love. God’s grace is so abundant, and he never ceases to bless us if we live for him.

One of my favourite authors said this,

“Is the gratitude that flows out of your life as abundant as the grace that flows into your life?” N. DeMoss

So, is it? Is the gratitude as abundant as the grace?  Are we in a continual state of gratitude to the Lord? Do our lips overflow with praise to God as we think about all that he does and gives and forgives, and heals and comforts?

Sometimes it only takes a little hiccup in our daily lives to remind us of the cup that we have to be thankful for. But, more often than not, God has to use a mammoth speed bump to get us to focus our eyes and hearts in the right direction.

Be thankful for your cup and let it overflow with praise to God.

Psalm 150:6 KJV - Let every thing that hath breath 

praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.