Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Little thanks can go a long way. I wouldn’t say it if I hadn’t truly observed the tremendous power of thanksgiving.
Whenever I sense that I am treading on the path of depressive thinking, I would give thanks for at least 10 items, and the disastrous pattern would be channeled back to the productive and truthful thinking. I used to be a depressive person, and depressive thinking and emotions had devoured a lot of blessings that could have been mine: such as time, opportunities, focus, academic performance, health, and relationships.
God commanded us to give thanks not because He was egotistic, but for our own good. There are indeed so much blessings in and around us that deserve our thanks.
Last night, I was strolling on a street in Hong Kong, a clamour broke out on the street across from where I was strolling, and as I looked into the direction of where the noises came from, I saw a bunch of teenagers messing around. One of them yelled, “Ah Sir is watching!” (We call police officers “Ah Sir” in Hong Kong) I looked around and spotted two police officers standing on my side of the street, watching the teenagers intensively, with their arms folded.
At that moment, I was touched. It had been a long time since I last felt touched by these civil servants (When I was little, policemen used to be my heroes, because of the TV shows that featured polices, and probably because of Jacky Chan’s Police Story’s series)
If not for them, the streets wouldn’t be safe for me to stroll around. As a writer, it’s important for me to stroll around and stretch my body when taking breaks from long hours before the computers.
Also, the parks, the soccers/basketball fields near my home, the fresh air, the trees, food, water, and a lot of things that keep me healthy, happy, and safe so I can do my blogging at this moment.
Thanks Giving and Self-Discipline
If we don’t practice thanksgiving, it’s impossible to maintain a super high level of self-discipline and motivation.
How do they relate?
When I accomplish a task —small or big —if I don’t truly give thank for what I was able to accomplish, I always feel a period of lethargy afterward, because deep in my heart, I fail to appreciate what I just did, nor the resources and help that assisted me to accomplish it, so my heart stops giving me more energy that I need to proceed to the next tasks.
Our heart and mine need our affirmations. They don’t know what we want them to do if we don’t let them know. I just started writing this post right after I gave thanks for being able to accomplish the previous one, but before I gave thank, my motivation was running so low that I thought I might call it the night.
You can’t be complaining or remaining neutral when you want to have strong self-discipline. For example, give thanks for being able to solve one tiny problem at work, if you want to maintain a good mood to go on solving the next 20 to 30 problems; give thank for receiving a random act of kindness from a friend, if you want even more. Don’t just look for things that are not there yet, but be grateful for every little gift and blessing that went your way.
Tags: bible devotion, bible verse, Inspirational Bible Verses, meditation, Self Discipline