Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 739 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The Power of a Thankful Heart – Mindshift Monday

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 739 of our trek, and it is time for our Mindshift Monday series. Wisdom-Trek’s primary focus is to assist you in creating your living legacy.

Creating your living legacy can only be accomplished by gaining wisdom in many areas of life. You can only gain wisdom by changing what you allow to go into your mind, which is a result of changing the way you think. In other words, to create your living legacy you must choose to be in a continual mode of mindshift.

It is easy to get stuck in a mindset that your current circumstances cannot be changed. This is not true, but you must understand this fundamental principle: In order to change your life, you must change how you think and what you think about. Our Mindshift Monday podcast and journal will be to provide you practical ways to make a mindshift to a rich and satisfying life. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This past weekend we celebrated an early Thanksgiving and a belated 87^th birthday for my Dad with four of my nine siblings and other family members. We had a total of 23 people here in all. It certainly was not what we consider a large family gathering, but one of great joy, celebration, and thankfulness. Since this week we do observe Thanksgiving in the United States, today our mindshift is to consider…

The Power of a Thankful Heart

The Apostle Paul encourages us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

It is not always easy to give thanks, but this is the very thing we must do in order to see God’s will accomplished in our lives. This is how we move into higher realms of faith for ourselves, our city, our nation, and indeed for the Kingdom of God.

Thanksgiving has great power to bring joy and break the power of the enemy. Whenever you give thanks to God despite the most difficult circumstances, the enemy loses a big battle in your life. When you give thanks in the midst of difficulty, you bring pleasure to God’s heart. He is looking for Christ-followers who live in a realm of praise and thanksgiving where the enemy no longer has an ability to hold or manipulate that person. Satan is defeated when we have a thankful heart because thankfulness during difficulty is a sacrifice pleasing to God.

Are you thankful? Are you thankful for your present circumstances? Are you thankful for your salvation, your friendships, your job? Thankfulness is a key to your life. It is the key that turns your situation around because it changes you, your outlook, and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart.

· Thanksgiving Brings Contentment

Begin to thank God for all the blessings he has given you instead of dwelling on the negative. Discontentment dries up the soul. Consider what missionary Elizabeth Elliott, who lost her husband on the mission field and has faced multitudes of hardships, says about loving God’s will and being content, “To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by one who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise apportionment. It is to follow in the steps of the Master, as did Paul, who was able to say that he had learned contentment no matter what the circumstances. His circumstances when he wrote that? Prison. No easy lesson, but great gain which is the sum of godliness plus contentment.” I Timothy 6:6 – Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

Look at the example of Jesus. He followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul teaches us:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

· Offer God a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving

The Duke of Wellington was the great British military leader who regretted that he had not learned the secret of praise during his lifetime. He had many great accomplishments and even defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He was a brilliant and demanding man, and when he was older, he realized that there were areas in his life that needed to change. In his old age, a women asked him this question, “What would you do differently if you had your life to live over again?” He thought carefully and said, “I would give more praise.” This is a lesson for all of us; if we learned to be people of praise and thanksgiving all the days of our lives, it would be a great accomplishment.

David said in Psalm 116:17, “I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.”

Let each of us seek to have an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, rising to a new level of holiness in our lives.

Here are 3 ways to practice an attitude of thankfulness in everyday life:

• Thank and praise God for everything in your life.Thank Him for even the difficulties. It is a sacrifice to do this. But He can turn troubles to triumph. Hebrews 13:15 – Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
• Don’t allow yourself to complain about anything. During the difficult times, be very careful to watch your tongue. Instead of complaining, think of ways you can verbally offer God the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
• Don’t compare yourself with others. Don’t wish that your life was different. God knows what is best. The Bible says having a thankful heart is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. When we begin to thank God for what we have rather than comparing ourselves with others, it opens the door for God’s blessings.

Here is a quote from Rick Warren that sums it up pretty well.

“God smiles when we praise and thank Him continually. Few things feel better than receiving heartfelt praise and appreciation from someone else. God loves it, too…An amazing thing happens when we offer praise and thanksgiving to God. When we give God enjoyment, our own hearts are filled with joy.”

Next week we will continue our trek of Mindshift Monday.  On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 738 daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes and Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!