Skip to main content

Give Thanks Like Daniel





Hard to believe, but It's almost Thanksgiving again.  For the next 30 days, I want to focus on giving thanks.

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.  Daniel 6:10



Most of us are familiar with this story. 

If you’re not, you should pick up your Bible and read the whole account. 

Daniel was exiled to Babylon years earlier. 

He distinguished himself as trustworthy and was in line for a promotion. 

Others who were also being considered for the position tried to 

“find some dirt on him.”  

Daniel acted with integrity, so they could find nothing wrong with him. 

They finally decide to get to him through his faith in God. 

They convinced Darius to make it illegal to ask anything of anyone 

but the king for thirty days. 

What I love is that it didn’t stop Daniel. 

What stands out and catches my attention 

is that the decree didn’t change what Daniel did. 

He was in the habit of thanking God and asking petitions from God. 

It’s easy to think, 

well, yeah, but everything was going right for him. 

He was going to get a promotion. 

Don’t forget that he had been dragged to Babylon against his will. 

No one said, “Hey Daniel, how do you feel about relocating?” 

NKJV says, “as was his custom since early days.” 

I imagine from the time he got to Babylon to that day, 

he was thanking God. 

He made it a habit not just because things were good, 

but even when things were terrible. 

Friends, as we approach Thanksgiving, 

let’s be thankful. 

We need to express our thanks to God not just at Thanksgiving, 

but every day. 

Let’s get in the practice of being grateful.    

We can start now. 

Thank God when everything is good and the sun is shining. 

If You have all you need, bless God. 

If you have been promoted, 

Praise Him. However, 

if it is raining, 

if you have lost a loved one, thank Him. 

If your job is eliminated, 

praise Him. 

If you have been separated from loved ones, be thankful. 

If you have been wiped out financially, 

bless him. 

Start a custom of being thankful.  

Being thankful is an attitude that does not need to depend on our circumstances.  

We can choose to give thanks no matter what we are facing.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank You God For Turning Our Ashes into Beauty

There are tragedy and sadness in everyone's life, No one is exempt. Yet, in the midst of the hurt and pain, God is there. He takes the things that hurt us and make us sad and turns them into things are beautiful. The death of my mother  was a tragedy to my dad. However, because of that tragedy, my dad began to see his need for God. In his brokenness, he found a God that could make him whole.  God turned his ashes into beauty. My dad, in turn, taught me to love God.   I am blessed to know God as my savior because of my dad. God also blessed me with a lovely step-mom Life is harsh at times, and many things are sad,  Yet, if we let him, he will take our ashes and make them into a work of art.   He delights in making the ash heaps of our life beautiful.   When we are broken, God is near, and where there is sorrow, he will turn it into dancing.   Thank you, God, F...
Post a Comment
Read more

Doctors and Taxes

Tonight, I’m doing something I absolutely hate.  My husband and I are working on a budget.  I imagine that most of you feel the same way. It’ kind of like taxes and doctors, we dislike them and breathe a sigh of relief when they are done. Truth be told; we really don’t enjoy working on a budget at all.  Yet it is one of the necessary components in knowing exactly how much you have and what you can spend. If indeed we are responsible to God for how we handle the resources that God has given us, then we need a clear picture. One piece of the puzzle that can bring the whole puzzle into focus is a budget.  It allows you to see and compare what you spend with what you have.  Sometimes as I’ve done a budget and looked at what I saw, I could see that the problem was little things that add up.  I realized that the problem was that I forgot the advice I had been given long ago, little things add up.  As we do a budget, we often see little things th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rest For Your Soul

Tonight was such a beautiful sunny night that I decided to go for a walk and enjoy the warm summer sun before another wave of rain hits.  As I cranked up my music and headed out.  I could not help but praise God for the area in which I live.   I, quite literally, live 5 minutes from a small town.   If I want to walk, I can walk down deserted country roads without driving at all.  Yes, I am incredibly blessed.  I saw baby bunnies eating grass by the edge of the road and talked with the most friendly Jersey cows.  They always walk over to the edge of the fence as I walk by nodding their heads in greeting.   There was a deer, in a hurry to catch up with his “deer” friends I suppose.  There were daisies and buttercups, apple trees by the edge of the road and a creek that floods at least once during the spring.  I also occasionally see a very friendly donkey and a few horses who always come to the edge of the fence hoping I have sugar for...
Post a Comment
Read more