A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

Posted by Rachael | 0 comments

He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me.
And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God.
-Psalm 50:23

My heart is bubbling up with thanksgiving this morning. I do believe it is the Holy Spirit speaking words of truth to me. Is my heart thankful more often than not? How do I teach my children to be thankful? From the above scripture, I see that thanksgiving is tied to our salvation and my greatest desire for my children is that they would know God personally and love Him with all their heart.

I know thankfulness is a condition of the heart (overflowing from the Holy Spirit) but it is also an action, making it both a noun and a verb.

As I showered last night and I felt the hot water I was overwhelmed with thankfulness at the luxury of a shower or bath. Some friends of mine were missionaries in India and she told me that she did not have the luxury of a bath at all, only showers and many people do not even have the privilege of a hot shower. I began to feel thankful for the richness of my shower.

We are a military family of 5, living off one income and I would not instantly think of myself as rich but yet I am. As I continue to say that over and over in my mind, my heart is changing. I truly feel rich- most of the time. The times I am struggling, I need to honor God for the blessings of my life and the emotions of thankfulness will follow. My thoughts precede my emotions. I choose to think thankful thoughts.

No matter where I am in the seasons of life, I pray that God would give me a grateful heart. It may be easier at times but I am positive that I will always be able to find something to be thankful for. I want my children to have a thankful heart, to know God as their personal savior, and to radiate His love. Without setting an example, how can I expect this?

The antonyms to thankfulness are quite ugly: ingratitude, oblivion of or to forget benefits, unmindful, unacknowledged, unrequited, and unrewarded. Who are we unmindful of, forgetting the benefits of and choosing to not acknowledge when we choose to have an ungrateful heart? God! Perhaps the lack of thankfulness is a form of pride.

Lord, I pray that thanksgiving would rule my heart and the hearts of my children. To You, O Lord, I praise for my abundance. Lord I ask that I would offer up to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving that would honor You. Teach me how to teach my children to order their way aright so that You would show them Your salvation, Jesus Christ.

Rachael is wife to a Navy Tubist and mommy to three children, ages 1 to 6. She is Director of a Classical Conversations group and a childbirth educator and doula. She works along side her hubby on their hobby farm and has a passion for kitchen experiments. She aspires to train and reach the hearts of her children that they may know the purpose of life is to know Jesus and make Him known to others.