I’m a master of The Negative, Complainer Extraordinaire!!!  Yup.  That’s me, in the flesh, I can point out every flaw, every minute detail that isn’t right, every little tiny morsel that doesn’t make me happy.  And, I’m not afraid to verbalize it. Key word here: “in the flesh”.  My flesh wants it all, just right, exactly the way I want it, exactly when I want it…pronto”.  News flash~  It’s not about me.  What a sad day that was, when God and I had a reckoning.  He smacked me upside the head that day and I’ve not been the same since.

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

You see, I was wallowing in self pity and total self absorption, probably bordering on depression…anger turned inward.  Life wasn’t the way I wanted it.  Important people in my life were making seriously bad choices, and wouldn’t listen to anything I was saying…..Somehow God’s Spirit penetrated my thick shell of ME and that Scripture in Hebrews stopped me short. Kitchen Table Revelation.  God’s cure for my Stinkin’ Thinkin”….give thanks, offer up the sacrifice of praise.  WHAT????  “Lord, you know the trouble..  You know all the awful (my opinion) decisions being made. How in the world am I supposed to be thankful for ungodliness?” Clearly not my thoughts are what followed.  God in His grace allowed my foolish, wicked heart to catch a glimpse of His wisdom. In essence He said:  “You don’t give thanks for sinful acts, you DO recognize My Sovereignty and goodness, My Grace and Mercy, My control over all.  Give up your own plans and ways, and let go of what others do and who they are right now.  You aren’t in charge of them…in fact, you can’t even take care of yourself!  Look at you.  You’re a mess, and and you are creating a bigger mess, assuming responsibility for things that aren’t yours to own.  Let go…let go of them, let go of the burden, and GIVE THANKS.  Let every thought of worry be a red flag.  You are to offer up thanks instead of fretting”…  I am so thankful for every red flag, for every moment that the spirit points out to me that is an opportunity to give true gratitude to the One Who does know the end from the beginning.  The One Who does have full control over all circumstances.  The Only One to Whom we can give thanks and praise for all He does, because He does all things well, no matter how it feels.

And years since that day at the kitchen table, I have come to understand, those things that I have the hardest time being thankful for….those are the devils tools to discourage me, to disarm me from Scripture, to disable me from glorifying the Lord and pointing others to Him, and that sow seeds of discontent that lead me to turn my focus to my problems, and how I am going to solve them, rather than Him as my Solution.  God is good. All the time.  He always answers my prayers, just not always the way I think He should.  And that’s OK.  I praise Him for saving me from myself, my selfish desires, my foolish cares and concerns that are all wrapped up in what this world presents, and what I think I want and need.  Second revelation from that lesson in gratitude….it’s NOT all about me!!!!   Life here, real Life in Him, is to be all about brining honor and GLory to Him.   I am a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom.  Just passing through this world.  I praise God for what He does, and Who He is….because I know me, without Him, I know who I am, what I am.  Unworthy except for His redemption.  There’s a lot to be thankful for, once our focus is set in the right direction.

For more, read http://www.gotquestions.org/giving-thanks-to-God.html#ixzz3cZMvObrJ

“First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We are to be thankful not only for the things we like, but for the circumstances we don’t like. When we purpose to thank God for everything that He allows to come into our lives, we keep bitterness at bay. We cannot be both thankful and bitter at the same time. We do not thank Him for evil, but that He is sustaining us through it (James 1:12). We don’t thank Him for harm He did not cause, but we thank Him when He gives us the strength to endure it (2 Corinthians 12:9). We thank Him for His promise that “all things will work together for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel thankful for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be thankful. We can hurt and still be thankful. We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward God. That is what the Bible calls a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15). Giving thanks to God keeps our hearts in right relationship with Him and saves us from a host of harmful emotions and attitudes that will rob us of the peace God wants us to experience (Philippians 4:6–7).”