She passed the coffee order to him with a cheery, “Have a good day!” His tone of annoyance was evident in his reply, “Whatever!”
I was next in line. The girl grimaced as I stepped forward and smiled. We both had taken note of the stagnant answer. I wondered if the young man was counting the days until Friday. Some days can have that effect when life seems to settle into a pattern with little or no expectation of adventure.
Sipping my coffee I read those words from Colossians and thought of the short encounter I had just witnessed:
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
The “whatever!” answer to the coffee girl gets turned on its head by this verse. God Himself asks us to say and do “whatever” as if we are representing Him; as if we are doing or saying it in His name and with a heart of gratitude!
The challenge is intriguing. It’s practical and could be very powerful. Could it actually put a sense of adventure into our days? Could you envision doing your routine, unexciting tasks of this week as a representative of the Almighty God? Could you do them with a grateful heart even when the doing does not particularly inspire you? What if your words were spoken and then you added “and I am saying this in the name of Jesus”. Would it change what you were about to say? Would it impact how you would act?
O Lord, please give me Your wisdom as I do the “whatever” today. Would You help thanksgiving to rise up within me? Thank You that I do not need to be tossed about by the dramatic nor the mundane things going on around me. Help me to do what‘s in front of me, and speak to those around me with the awareness that I am representing You. Change my focus as I fill my mind with Your wisdom. Let peace and joy spill over in this week’s chapter of my story and may others be touched by You, through me, in the “whatever” of my week. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Thought: Make a choice. Today choose to use the mundane, stagnant “whatevers” as a launch pad to change the way you do and say what you do and say. And then give thanks for those mundane tasks and encounters. You just never know where this change of attitude could take you, especially when you invite Jesus to empower those sayings and doings with His strength. There is adventure waiting as you write the chapter in your story this week through a conscious awareness of the “whatever”.
• We are devoted to prayer, staying alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2)..
• We rejoice, praying without ceasing, giving thanks to God (1 Thessalonians. 5:16-18).
A thankful life is a prayerful life. A life void of prayer is an unthankful life.
Thanksgiving in Heaven
We don’t know a lot about heaven, often making us wonder what it will be like. One thing occurring in heaven is thanksgiving.
• The angels in heaven give thanks to God (Revelation 11:17).
• When we get to heaven, we will give thanks to God for salvation, as those who were washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:1-15).
If we’re not thankful in our prayers upon the earth, it’s doubtful we’ll live in heaven, where we’ll be busy offering thanks to God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Every Day is Thanksgiving, for Christians
As we experience God’s goodness in our lives, and offer thanks to Him, we could say that every day is a day of thanksgiving. We don’t feast upon turkey every day, in observance of a secular holiday, but we offer our thanks to God in prayer, reflecting our thankfulness in everything we say and do.
• The result of our thankful lives, doing the good works God has ordained, is that it produces thanksgiving to God.
• The effect of things we do upon the earth is far reaching, even reaching the throne of God.
Whatever you do in the bustle of day-to-day life, remember to give thanks. And live in such a way that others, who watch you and experience God’s goodness from your hands, can’t help but pause and offer up a prayer to express their thanks.
In these ways, God will be glorified, and receive the thanks He deserves.
