Some days, you may have had a challenge being thankful. We've all experienced that, because, mostly, we've focused on the wrong thing--the negatives, instead of the MANY positives, the MANY good things the LORD our God does for us, EVERY DAY!! 

As the LORD showed me a few years ago, and I've shared with my husband and myself many times, the LORD is forever faithful--and even a simple way to remember that is this: He keeps us safe and gives us sweet sleep every night, and we trust Him totally! He is forever faithful, whether we're asleep or awake! We trust Him totally when we sleep--or we'd never sleep! The difference in our trust level is that, when we're awake, our flesh/mind/soul (mind, will, emotions) tries to get in the way and dilute and pollute our faith. The devil throws dart of doubt, fear, and unbelief at us, too, in the mix. 

Those are just a couple of reasons to love and know and sow the life-changing Word of God into ourselves, for that is our victory--to speak the Word for what we want, and to remind the enemy that he is defeated by the Blood of the Lamb shed at the cross, and the Word of our testimony--the Word of God and bragging on what God has done and what He is doing and will do for us, HIS COVENANT HEIRS!!

HALLEUJAH!!

Yes, things have been crazy and different in many ways, especially with the pandemic. But praise the LORD, God never changes; Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and forever!! HALLELUJAH!!

For many years, I was a very bitter, negative, sarcastic, hurt person--even though I was born again by believing in what Jesus did for me at the cross, when I was 9! But my Daddy God, in His amazing love and patience, deep understanding and mercy, and eternal faithfulness, continued to draw me and teach me His ways, and heal and deliver my spirit and soul, transform my thinking, lead me to repent, and helped me to believe and start living His Word! HALLELUJAH!!!

Truly, the Living Water of His Word has so transformed me, that I don't even recognize the dead person that used to have my name and natural DNA! I am a new creation, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 speaks of, and He has cleansed my concsience from dead works to serve Him, the Living God. 

However, this has not come just from my efforts, however, but from the prayers of many, including my pastors and other ministers; spending time with Him in prayer and worship; taking time to read, write, listen to, and speak the Word (including taking sheets of Scriptures and writing them out, and speaking them out--so I heard them, the LORD was glorified, and the devils heard them too (and shuddered in fear!).  This has come from me repenting when the LORD exposed rubble in my life (as the book of Nehemiah talks about) so He could remove it and rebuild the walls and foundations of my life with beautiful things; and by Him teaching me to focus on the positive on purpose, and to write out and speak out things for which I was thankful!

As I progressed through the years with His help, (and the help of my wonderful godly praying humble and faithful husband, whom, of course, has become more wonderful as I've become more humble and thankful! Amazing how that works! :D), I realized more and more just how toxic my thinking had been; just how perverted (which means twisted,  and not necessarily in a sexual sense, but differing from what the Word of God truly says!) my thoughts and words had been--how against God's Word in so many ways. YUCK! So I've learned to repent quickly and ask the LORD to forgive me and cleanse me and help me to not repeat those mistakes. I've also learned to ask Him, first thing upon waking (even as I lie in the bed!), to fill me with His Spirit afresh, and to make me very sensitive and obedient to His Spirit--like the cruise control in the car immediately responds to my touch! He is faithful to do so, for those prayers are in His perfect will, and thus I have what I ask because I know He hears me, as I John 5:14 and 15 says! Glory!

So, as I've learned to be more thankful--to recognize and repeat out loud (to myself, the LORD, and other people) what God has done for me--it has become much more easy to be thankful.  I much prefer it! Being thankful means being positive. Being thankful grows our faith, because as we rehearse the goodness of God (and especially when we sing it, for (as many scientists have proven) when we hear music and sing it, more parts of our brains and emotions are engaged than just when we speak something, although our words are of course very powerful; we are created as speaking spirits! 

(That is yet another reason why we should carefully and prayerfully choose the music and movies and books and relationships and podcasts and games and other programs that we allow into our homes and our minds and our childrens' minds. When the networks say "programming," that is truly what they mean! But as Believers in Christ, we must choose (and the more we choose Him, the easier it becomes to choose Him--Life!) to guard our hearts from the negatives, to choose the good, and to discern clearly between what is truly good and what is disguised as "good"! 

My tastes and desires have changed tremendously through the years--as have my husband's!--as we've drawn closer to the LORD through studying His Word, repenting, choosing to be thankful, and spending time every day (NOT just once a week at church! That is not enough to live a victorious life in this messed-up world!!) in worship and prayer. 

So now, it's very easy to recognize and speak things we are thankful for. We also keep journals and write the wonderful things God does--from the smallest to the biggest. We spent a couple years lately writing things down every time we recognized a blessing from the LORD and putting that paper into a container--then taking turns reading those slips (with the dates on them) out loud to each other, at the end or beginning of the year, or even halfway through.  As we rehearsed God's goodness, we realized we had forgotten some of God's goodness to us, and were thankful all over again!

BLESSED BE THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD! FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!

Here is that statement from Psalm 107 in The Passion Translation: 

Let everyone give all their praise and thanks to the Lord! Here’s why—he’s better than anyone could ever imagine. Yes, he’s always loving and kind, and his faithful love never ends. So, go ahead—let everyone know it! Tell the world how he broke through and delivered you from the power of darkness and has gathered us together from all over the world.

HALLELUJAH!

One thing King David excelled in was worshiping the LORD by being thankful, as is reflected in so many of the Psalms. 

Can you see, even as you're reading my testimony of God's amazing Grace toward me, the process and power and joy of being thankful? It works! 

Thank goodness God's mercy precedes--comes before--His judgment!! He loves and pities us as a father loves and pities his chiildren. Praise the LORD!

Here is an exhortation (a song, it says, and the LORD loves singing!) to be thankful from Psalm 100:

A poetic song for thanksgiving
¹ Lift up a great shout of joy to the Lord!
Go ahead and do it—everyone, everywhere!
² As you serve him, be glad and worship him.
Sing your way into his presence with joy!
³ And realize what this really means—
we have the privilege of worshiping the Lord our God.
For he is our Creator and we belong to him.
We are the people of his pleasure.
⁴ You can pass through his open gates with the password of praise.
Come right into his presence with thanksgiving.
Come bring your thank offering to him
and affectionately bless his beautiful name!
⁵ For the Lord is always good and ready to receive you.
He’s so loving that it will amaze you—
so kind that it will astound you!
And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all.
Everyone knows our God can be trusted,
for he keeps his promises to every generation!

 Hallelujah! And here's another secret: The more you are thankful toward Him and praise Him, the better, the more joyful, light, and free you will feel!! Sometimes it may take longer, but keep doing it, and ask His Holy Spirit to ask you to praise and thank Him, and He certainly will! (One part of the Holy Spirit's job is to cause the Father, Jehovah, and the Son, Jesus Christ, to be exalted and magnified.) 

God is holy; divine; so far above us as natural humans, that we could never fullly understand Him.  He alone is worthy to be worshiped, and even certain of the angels in Heaven forever encircle Him (Revelation), and see a new aspect of His being every time. They are so overcome with His glory, majesty, and infinite wisdom that they cry, "Holy! Holy! Holy! is the LORD God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come! (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8)"

Maybe you're thinking, "Yeah, easy for you, but you don't know all the trouble I'm having, and what a mess my life is! It's really hard to be thankful right now!"

I know, believe me, and you do NOT have time to hear all the trouble I've seen! But I have seen the LORD Jehovah Nissi--the LORD our Victorious Miracle Banner--smite my enemies and make a way of escape, when there seemed to be none! He is the Way Maker--the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), who always makes all things work together for our best and His glory, when we are His kids (when we have become born again; when we have asked God's forgiveness for our wrongs--our sins--and asked Jesus to come into our hearts and be our LORD and Savior)

If it's hard to get started, I understand. But be assured that--especially with this pandemic throughout the world, and even in the USA--there are multiplied thousands of people, if not more, that have more problems than you!

Although I've already listed many ways (if you look) to be thankful to the LORD, here is a list of three simple ways to be thankful:

(1) Just say it. Practice right now: "Thank You, LORD, for all your goodness to me. Thank You."

(2) Raise your hands and wave at God.  Although Jesus His Son is in you by the Spirit of Grace if you have received Christ, God the Father, the great God Jehovah, is seated in the third (highest) Heaven. When we raise our hands it is not surrender as much as worship---like a child raises its hands to its loving parent ("Pick me up, Daddy. I want to be closer to you"!).

(3) Sing to Him! Make up your own song, or sing from a sheet or hymnbook or lyrics on your phone or computer. He loves it! (No worries about how you sound--that's only for the recording studio or the choir (and even in the choir, your voice will blend with others and the LORD will put His "super" on the "natural," (ask me how I know!), and He will make it all a vessel through which He can minister to and change the hearers!)

I used to make up songs to the LORD and sing them to Him while I played on the swing. I was 5 years old. However, as I've drawn closer to the LORD, many "new songs" have come up in me and I sing them to Him--sometimes in the shower, sometimes in the car, sometimes in my home office, sometimes even at church under my breath, when the Spirit of God is really moving! They just rise up in me! Another cool thing I've noticed is that, when I sing, I often immediately sense His wonderful Presence and approval! I know He is with me always--for He promises us that the moment we receive Christ Jesus!--and oh, how I love to sense His Presence! It is like a warm electric hug and surges of joy and lightness! There is nothing like the Presence of the LORD!!

There are also many excellent Christian radio stations online and otherwise that you can listen to and learn songs from, and get them into your heart. Any song truly from the LORD will help you be thankful to Him and draw closer to Him.   

Also, some Biblical scholars believe that Elohim, the LORD our Creator, sang the world into existence! Wow and Glory Hallelujah! 

Just remember that God our Father is a real Person, with real emotions! He is our Father (when Christ is our Savior and LORD), our great God is so humble kind and tender and sweet and generous and thoughtful and faithful forever; He is Love (I John 4:8). He is worthy of our praise, and when we praise Him, it doesn't change Him, but US!He will appreciate and reward your thanksgiving and praise, and YOU will be changed for good in the process! 

Praises sung to the Pure and Shining One, by King David, his servant, composed when the Lord rescued David from all his many enemies, including from the brutality of Saul Lord, I passionately love you and I’m bonded to you, for now you’ve become my power! You’re as real to me as bedrock beneath my feet, like a castle on a cliff, my forever firm fortress, my mountain of hiding, my pathway of escape, my tower of rescue where none can reach me. My secret strength and shield around me, you are salvation’s ray of brightness shining on the hillside, always the champion of my cause. -- Psalm 18:1-2, The Passion Translation

Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.