It’s almost Thanksgiving. David tells us: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100) David also wrote, “It is good to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto His name.”

Shakespeare, in his Henry VI, Part II wrote, “Let never day nor night unhallowe’d pass, but remember what the Lord hath done.” Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, wrote, “In everything give thanks!” That is not easy to do. It requires total trust in the goodness of God. Cicero reminded us that “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.”

A thankful heart is a manifestation of a noble and trusting soul. A heart filled with gratitude will find both a rainbow of promise in the most devastating storms as well as the strength to endure until the peace that passeth understanding shall fill your life.

If we thanked God for all his blessings, there would be no time left to complain about the little things that frustrate us.

If you can get up in the morning, take your bath, dress yourself and eat your breakfast without help, you should fall on your knees and thank God. If some work awaits your hands each day, no matter how difficult, thank God that you are needed in this sometimes crazy world.

If you love someone and there is a single soul who loves you, thanksgiving is not an option, it is absolutely necessary. Never forget that God created you and me in his image and gave his only son to die on a cross to save us from our sins. We do not deserve such love. Do not complain about what you cannot do and what you do not have; rather thank God for what you do have and what you can do.

I am thankful for family and friends. I am thankful for the thousands of young men and women who have paid the supreme sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy. Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a person lay down his or her life for his friends.” Helen Steiner Rice wrote “One Nation Under God.” Let me share it with you.

For while we still offer the traditional prayer,

We pray out of habit without being aware

That the pilgrims thanked God just for being alive.

For the strength that He gave them endure and survive

Hunger and hardship in that’s unknown in the present;

Where progress and plenty have made our lives pleasant;

And living today in this great and rich nation,

That depends not on God — but on mechanization!

We tend to forget that our forefathers came

To establish a country, under God’s name.

Many have abandoned faith and the God of creation

Teach us, dear Lord, we are all pilgrims still,

Subject alone to your guidance and will,

And show us the way to godly living,

So we may have reason for daily thanksgiving.

Robert V. Ozment is a retired United Methodist minister.