Thanksgiving flows from relationship, not circumstances …

If you find yourself able to offer thanks to God when your life is overflowing with positive circumstances, but are angry at Him when things aren’t going the way you want, you’re not really a thankful person.

That way of behaving is too commonplace among those who self-identify as Christians.

Here’s the issue: Being a person who has a deeply-seeded and genuine attitude of gratitude, and having a natural and persistent desire to give thanks, has nothing to do with circumstances, but must be rooted in God Himself. Put another way, it’s our relationship from which sincere thanksgiving springs, not just when God “fixes” or improves our circumstances.

A person who understood and modeled this to a degree most of us never have is the famed George Mueller. His prayer life, and faith in God, are legendary. Check out this story, told by Rich Wagner in “The Expeditionary Man,” that demonstrates how, even though circumstances were dire, Mueller didn’t give a thought about whether to offer thanks to God:

“In the late 1800’s George Mueller operated an orphanage that at one time had 1,000 orphans. One morning there was no food to eat, but he called all the children and staff together and prayed, thanking God for the provision of food, even though no food was on the table. A few moments later a baker knocked on the door. He told Mr. Mueller that God had led him to bake bread the night before and give it to the orphanage. Before the bread was given to the children, a milkman knocked on the door. He said that his milk truck had broken down and he wanted to give the milk to the orphanage.”

Mueller’s life was full of stories like that — not just amazing provision by God for him and his ministry — but very dire times, when circumstances were bleak at best. Yet, Mueller maintained an attitude of gratitude, and persistently offered thanksgiving to God, because of the relationship he had with Him. It didn’t matter what Mueller and his ministry had or didn’t have, it mattered who his life was rooted in.

The Apostle Paul refers to this “relationship-rootedness” when he wrote, “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory,” Colossians 3:3-4.

When your life is rooted in your Lord — or as Paul put it, “hidden with Christ in God” — there will be a deep well of gratitude from which you will persistently want to offer thanks. In that case, you won’t have to sit around the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day racking your brain about what to say you’re thankful for; instead, it flows naturally from your relationship with God with sincerity and deep gratitude.

But if you keep your eyes on your circumstances more than you keep your life centered in your relationship with God, you might more quickly come up with complaints about your life rather than reasons for expressing thanksgiving.

Is yours a life with eyes on your circumstances, or one lived out rooted in relationship with God?

Scotty