Enter with the password: "Thank you!"  

Make yourselves at home, talking praise.  

Thank him.  Worship him.

[Psalm 100:4 from The Message]

In our culture, the word thanksgiving tends to be associated primarily with a holiday when people take time off work and eat excessive amounts of food.  For Christ followers, thanksgiving is to be a way of life, an overarching attitude that continuously discovers God's grace and miraculous provision throughout the various seasons we walk through.  I think we sometimes struggle to live with thankful hearts because we develop a sense of entitlement in our relationship with God.  We somehow come to believe that God owes us a certain type of  life, standard of living, level of health, and amount of income.  Then, when something happens to us that bursts our plans and agendas, we become bitter and forget to thank God for all his blessings and benefits that remain constant and true through the storms.  King David wrote these powerful words about the importance of remembering to be thankful:

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:1-5)

We would serve ourselves well to regularly meditate on these verses.  

When a job is lost due to cutbacks in the company, maybe the earthly benefits (paycheck, healthcare) are gone for a season, but we can know that God's benefits will never end.  There is still forgiveness and healing in Christ.  

When an unexpected diagnosis alters a life and becomes a potential source of anxiety and depression, we can know that God delivers from the pit of despair and he reaches out with hands that are loving and compassionate.  

When a marriage is strained and seems to be on the way to a sure divorce, we can remember that God satisfies our desires with good things and there remains the possibility of renewal and reconciliation for those who humbly seek him.  

Are you living with a heart of thanksgiving?  

Do you daily remember God's benefits?

Take a few minutes and write a "Thank You" card to God and list some of these benefits.  It will give you a renewed, hopeful perspective for the day!