I did it again this morning. Soon after I stepped into the shower, I began to thank the Lord for His gobs and gobs of blessings. In fact I do that most mornings. There is not many things as good as a hot shower. As I age I’m experiencing a few more pains, and the hot water is a wonderful soothing help for my aches. One day, a long time ago, as I was soaking in the heat and enjoying the experience, God let me know that my hot shower was a blessing not experienced by most of the world. That initiated a thanksgiving hallelujah and a time of remembering many more ways that I was blessed by the Father. So, day after day I step into the shower with no particular plan to be thankful, but the hot water seems to be a trigger for me to appreciate how loving and giving God is to me. And just like this morning the shower stall is turned into a time of worship.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
- …give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (NIV)
- …in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. (Amplified)
- Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ. (J. B. Phillips)
Confession time – I don’t thank God 24/7. But I am seeking to train myself to thank Him more often. God, Himself, gave me the trigger of a hot shower to stir thanksgiving. That was all His doing. He has led me to add a time of thanksgiving toward the beginning of my daily Quiet Time. I seek to find at least 3 things from the day before to show appreciation for. Often it leads to a longer list of blessings for which I express my gratitude.
I believe all of us are not bombarding heaven with as much thanksgiving as God deserves. It will take effort on our part and the help of the Holy Spirit for us to develop thankful hearts that are continuously lifting our gratitude to the Lord. We may have to develop triggers to remind us to be doing what should be done automatically. Think about trying some of these.
- Put a coin in your shoe and when you recognize that it is there – Thank God
- When you pass a church – Thank God
- Each stop light/stop sign is a reminder to stop and – Thank God
- Let each Christian song you listen to stir you to – Thank God
- Every praise report sent out by our church should lead you to – Thank God
- Every person asking for money should lead you to pray for them (and possibly give) and also to – Thank God
- Obituaries should lead you to – Thank God
- Opening an email from a trusted friend should lead you to – Thank God
- Let every hot shower lead to breaking out with gratitude as you – Thank God
The more I seek to establish triggers to prompt my gratitude and develop habits around that trigger, the more I find myself thanking God at other times. “In all circumstances” – no, I’m not there yet, but God is helping me to do it in “some circumstances”. I’m sure you too can establish a few triggers of your own as you seek to shower God with your warm thanksgiving.
Pastor Steve