Reasons to be thankful

Thanks, being thankful and thankfulness are important ideas in the Bible. Paul writes:

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

and again ..

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

The Psalms are littered with thanks:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1

Recently there is more awareness of the need to be thankful. It’s said that those who take time to be thankful have a healthier mind. 40 days of thankfulness, apps to help you capture thankful moments are all part of the recent uptrend in making sure our thoughts go from us, to somewhere else.

I was looking again at 1 Timothy 1 today. (for those of you who haven’t been following my thoughts on 1 Timothy here is the link the  and noticed 9 reasons why Paul says:

I thank him

1 Timothy 1:12

Reasons Paul was thankful:

1. Paul was given strength that wasn’t his own (v12)
2. Paul was given faithfulness that wasn’t his own (12)
3. Paul was given a cause not his own (12)
4. Paul was given mercy not his own (13)
5. Paul was given overflowing grace not his own (14)
6. Paul was given love not his own (14)
7. Paul was given salvation not his own (15)
8. Paul was given patience not his own (16)
9. Paul was given a King, who he call call His own (17)

What are the things that you are thankful for?