Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. – Psalm 97:12
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
Consider this short recap from a previous devotional of the life of one man who knew the importance of a thankful heart:
When he was nine, his mother died. Though he loved books, he received little formal education. His sister died in childbirth. At age twenty-four he found himself deep in debt when a store he invested in failed. When he was twenty-five the woman he loved caught fever and died causing him to sink into deep depression.
Three years later he proposed to another woman and she turned him down. At thirty-four he lost the nomination for U.S. Congress. Only one of his four sons lived to adulthood: one died just short of age 4, one at age 11, one at 18. Who was this man? Abraham Lincoln. And in 1863 he asked Congress to establish the annual celebration of Thanksgiving.
In spite of his failings, his sorrow, his depression, his disappointments, he chose to express gratitude to God and lead a nation to do the same.
What’s your “In spite of . . .?” It doesn’t matter what it is: hurt, pain, sorrow, depression, loss, disappointments, or anything else. You can choose to have a thankful spirit.
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. – Abraham Lincoln
– Steve Arterburn
