Whistle a Happy Tune – of Thanks

Happiness and worry are incompatible. Worry has the tendency to create and perpetuate a negative attitude about life’s possibilities, crowding out thoughts of happiness and thanksgiving necessary for celebrating life. Worry is also aligned with fear that implies a portion of your life is out of control.

Worry is indicative of diminished faith and lack of confidence in God’s ability to solve your problems. Jesus countered this lack of faith with these words. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not plant or harvest, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they? Can worry add a single hour to your life?”

Jesus wants you to accept his care for you, so there is no reason to obsessively worry. Nothing is impossible for him. Go outside and listen to the birds singing. Is this their way of  being thankful and celebrating reflectively of God’s provision? Right now envision the Lord caring for you just as he cares for the birds. 

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Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.

~Psalm 94:19 The Living Bible

Thankful Through It All

Happiness should always be surrounded by an attitude of thanksgiving. Good things happen and I am blessed. So is thanksgiving dependent only on good, positive experiences? If thanksgiving is totally dependent on the absence of negative or bad attitudes, then my gratitude will evaporate if anything troublesome happens. 

However, God makes it possible to be thankful in every situation. It’s important to remember we have a powerful, loving, approachable Lord who longs to comfort and assure us at all times. While the pain of loss can conceal our happiness, a Christian’s joy is based on God’s enduring love. 

William Blake, the English poet, gave us this assurance:

To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love,

All pray in their distress:

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

Is God, our Father dear.

Blake continues: "For Mercy has a human heart; Pity, a human face; and Love, the human form divine" portrayed in the person of Christ Jesus. So we thank God for all he has done.

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Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people.

~1 Peter 1:3-4 Good News Bible

Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

His love and his kindness go on forever.

~1 Chronicles 16:34 The Living Bible