Journal Entry ~ 02/07/19

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. - Colossians 2:6-7

Thanksgiving is essential to our walk with Christ. It isn't supposed to be something we "do", it is supposed to be who we are. Everything about us should shout to the world that we are thankful for who Jesus is and what He has done. Everything we say, everything we do, everything we think - it should always, only say that we are eternally grateful for the way He has stepped into our lives and taken care of our greatest problem, our own sin, and that He is sovereign over everything that we could possibly face. But does it?  

It's not like we shake our fists at the sky and yell at God in front of the people in our lives. In fact, most of us work to even tell people in our lives how thankful we are for what God has done for us. But what Paul is commanding in this passage is more than that - it's more than just what we "do", it's supposed to be who we are.  

We are a discontent people, and we are all guilty of complaining about the parts of our lives that we don't like - we complain about our families, our jobs, our president, our bosses, our husbands, even how slow the cashier is moving...the list could go on and on. Some of us have gotten better at not complaining out loud as much, so it may appear as if we complain less, but our thoughts are rampant with complaints. It's all discontent and stems from an ungrateful attitude. And it's sin. 

The world, Satan, and our own sinful hearts are oriented away from thanksgiving, so it's something we have to fight every moment of every day. And in order to do that, we have to do what this passage tells us - we have to re-orient our hearts to focus on what He has done for us. 

Thanksgiving flows from the understanding that His steadfast love endures forever, that He is faithful to us, and that He is sovereign over every single thing that we face. If we believe this in our hearts, and we continue to remind ourselves of these truths, then it will be a part of who we are.  


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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