A Bouquet of Thanksgiving

I read recently about creating beautiful bouquets of thanksgiving throughout the day, to lay at the Lord’s feet each night.

It’s such a beautiful word picture, the idea of collecting flowers and laying them at Jesus feet.

Now, in case you’re wondering, no, I haven’t lost my mind. Let me explain.

Suppose as you went about your day, you looked for specific ways that God was blessing you and you collected these blessings, one by one, into a lovely bouquet of thanksgiving that you could give to God at night before you went to sleep.

I think that every woman, whether she is vocal about it or not, loves flowers. Every woman appreciates a beautiful bouquet of flowers or a rose bush in full bloom. We love to bend down and breathe in the sweet aroma of a particular flower. Or maybe, you’re like me, and you love the flowers that bloom from a weed, on the side of the road, bringing a splash of colour to an otherwise ugly patch of dirt.

So, if you could envision that every blessing was a beautiful flower and that every flower was a different colour and type, uniquely special, and that you could gather them all together and give them to God with a heart of thanksgiving, wouldn’t it be a wonderful way to end your day?

Wouldn’t it be so much better than falling into bed, weary and worn, with a frown on your face and ungratefulness in your heart, words of complaint on your lips as you offer up a few short words to God, asking him to help you sleep well and bless you the next day?

Did you know that God wants your gratitude? He wants your thankfulness. The Bible tells us that it is a good thing to give thanks.

Psalm 92:1  It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

We are also told that it is God’s will to give thanks in everything.

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

 So many of us are struggling through difficult times at present, and we’re finding it hard to find things to be grateful for. All we see are problems. But if we would just open our eyes, and our hearts, we would find that God blesses us over and over, and we don’t take any notice and never stop to thank him.

If you took mental notes of all the little blessings God gives you throughout your day, and then, before you lay down your head onto your pillow at night, you took time to praise and thank him for each and every one, how long would it take you? And do you think it would crowd out the complaints and the worries and the stress?

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? Are we continually thanking and praising God for his goodness? Or are we only complaining?

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 the verse in Psalms says thanksgiving is a sacrifice?

Psalm 116:17  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 are given daily 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.

There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. Whether it’s a beautiful sunny day, or a shower of rain after a long dry spell, or a cup of coffee with a friend, 3 meals a day, a grandchild’s sweet little giggle, a bird’s song, a beautiful sunset, legs to walk, eyes to see, ears to hear.

We take so many things for granted, and we don’t see them for what they are. Blessings! Blessings straight from the hand of God!

Can I encourage you, and I want to join you in this endeavour, to keep your eyes and ears open throughout the day, and gather those beautiful flowers of blessings, one by one, into a lovely bouquet to lay at Jesus feet each night.

Gratitude to God will strengthen your faith and will bring you peace. As you praise him for his goodness to you, you will begin to feel the stresses melt away, the cares and troubles will fade from view as you focus on the good and beautiful, and life won’t feel so hard and heavy as you change your perspective and realise just how much you have to be thankful for.

Let the gratitude that flows out of your life be as abundant as the grace that flows in!

Psalm 150:6

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.