Withholding Thanks Hardens Hearts

by Barbara Latta

Self can become a god

One of the signs of the end times is being unthankful (2 Timothy 3:2). All one has to do is see a news report for a few minutes to know ingratitude and rudeness are prevalent in our society. The spirit pervading the air reeks of promoting and elevating self and selfish desires. Intelligence and technology have become a god and the “gimme” attitude has its hand out for more at the expense of others.

The Bible says in Romans 1:21, “because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (emphasis mine).

This verse is part of Paul’s letter to the Romans explaining how people really know there is a God even when they don’t admit it. But because they continue to refuse Him their hearts become hard and they can no longer hear any conviction. Eventually, they become totally reprobate and without hope.

After all, when a person totally ignores the unction of the Holy Spirit and makes themselves or their intelligence a god, why should they thank anyone else? There is no one to be accountable to so in their minds any behavior is acceptable.

How can we keep our hearts softened to the voice of God and remain thankful to Him?

Give thanks to God

• Continue in His Word
• Confess His Word over ourselves and our situations.
• Acknowledge His Lordship
• Glorify Him in all things because He is always the answer

If we find ways to give thank daily for things we sometimes forget are blessings, we will have a heart filled with gratitude.

What about the color of the rainbow, fall leaves, spring flowers, or a baby’s blue eyes? God could have made everything black, white, and gray and we wouldn’t have known the difference. But He chose to give us enjoyment with the variety of colors our eyes feast upon.

Color is a gift from God

Have you ever been thankful for a child’s giggle or grubby little hands bringing you flowers, the blue sky, bright sunshine, or the smell of bread baking in the kitchen?

Can you breathe, walk, talk, hear, see, or move about? You may say I can’t do some of those things so what do I have to be thankful about? God loves you is the main thing. Thank Him for giving His Son Jesus to redeem you from sin and giving His Word to help you overcome the difficulties you may have.

God wants us to have a thankful heart because in doing so we are submitting to Him. A soft heart can hear His voice and we in turn can spread that voice to the world.

Thank you, Reader!

As my gift to you, I am offering a free download of my short story, The Sermon At The Mall. This is an allegory about Black Friday, but it is not meant to criticize anyone who shops during special sales. I have had fun doing so myself. This story is simply a reminder for us to keep everything in perspective. I had difficulty attaching the PDF to the blog site, but if you will contact me at blatta146 (at) gmail (dot) com, I will be glad to email it to you.

I am thankful for you, the reader, for the time you take to read this blog and comment.

I wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving and would love to have you share some of the blessings you are thankful for in the comment section below.