And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20 (NLT)
In 1860, a ship called the Lady Elgin was shipwrecked. It was carrying more than 300 passengers on a sight-seeing tour when it collided with another ship. Most passengers died but some floated toward shore, clinging to floating debris for hours only to be plunged back into the sea by a fierce undertow. Seventeen fortunate people survived, owing their lives to a young university student named Edward W. Spencer.
Edward continually swam into the violent waters to pull out as many passengers as he could before collapsing from exhaustion. He never fully recovered. He lived with broken health, unable to enter the ministry and died in California at age 81. A notice in the newspaper at the time of his death stated that not one of the 17 ever came to thank him.
People who are ungrateful hurt others but really, they hurt themselves the most. Philippians 4:4-8 tells us that a habit of thankfulness is like a guard mounted in our hearts, fending off unhappiness, depression and stress. It’s also the entranceway into God’s presence. And Mark 8:6 illustrates the miraculous power of gratitude with the story of Jesus multiplying one loaf of bread and a few fish to feed thousands. Right before the miracle, Jesus gave thanks for what little He had.
Express thanks today with your words and actions and you will discover how powerful this little habit really is!