Five Reasons To Be a Thankful Leader

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope this holiday brings joy, family, friends, great food, and great naps.

There’s so much to be thankful for through Jesus, and the best is yet to come.

However, have you noticed it takes intentionality in being thankful? It doesn’t come naturally as we tend to look at the glass half empty and what isn’t going right. In fact, it’s easier to fixate on what is wrong versus what is right. We lean toward the negative and I believe this impacts us in many ways.

But there’s an answer to this and it’s not the Thanksgiving Holiday we have once a year. It’s a choice of a lifestyle that we do every day and then when Thanksgiving arrives, it’s an overflow of gratitude and thanks to God.

Choosing to be thankful is biblical, as Paul says,

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬

Notice it says, to be thankful in ALL circumstances. This is big, but possible through Jesus.

Being leaders we set the tone and people follow our lead. When we’re thankful, they will be thankful. If we’re unthankful, they will follow.

It amazes me how one person can determine the mood, experience, atmosphere, and dynamic of a room. Have you seen this?

When someone brings down a room, we all know it and can feel it. But when someone lifts up a room, it can be overlooked and go unnoticed. This shows us that the negative stands out more than the positive. But, when leaders lead with thanksgiving, the people around them enjoy a healthy, growing, and thankful environment.

Where we go, others go. What we do, others do. How we act, others act. When we’re thankful, others will be thankful too.

So, here’s five reasons to be thankful. My hope is that these reasons springboard you into a continual list of things to give God thanks for. Doing this will lift your faith, your emotions, your health, your thoughts, your expectations, and your love. This is what happens when we give God thanks for what He’s done!

1st – Jesus loves us.

This is the greatest thing because it’s through Christ we are saved and go to Heaven. It’s through Jesus we have a life change, deliverance, healing, purpose, freedom, empowerment, authority, grace, mercy, forgiveness, hope, and the church.

He’s the answer for our lives and the answer for the world today!

Everything was made through Him and by Him and more, He loves you and me with an everlasting love!

I don’t know your story, or what you have been through but I do know this; Jesus loves you and in Him, there’s hope of new beginnings, and a fulfilled life.

Nothing can separate you from His love.

2nd – You’re alive.

If you’re alive God is not done using you. He’s not done doing something through you. He’s not done with miracles and answers to your prayers. God sees you and He has a plan for you.

No matter how you arrived in this world, God was ready for you and had plans to do miracles in your life. So right now, you’re alive and you’ve made it through ups and downs because God is with you. Therefore, let your hope reach up to God and know that He’s got great things to do in your life!

You’re alive and there’s hope!

3rd – Your family.

This can be a challenge but it’s true. No matter our family status, current dynamics, or issues, our family is a part of our story.

The beautiful thing about God is that He takes a mess and gives us a message. He takes pain and gives purpose. He takes tragedies and gives triumph. He takes failures and gives faith. He takes wrong patterns and gives new promises.

God has an answer for anything the enemy is throwing our way. He has an answer to what the devil has done or tried to do. Through Jesus, any curse can be broken. Through Jesus, any stronghold can be demolished. Through Jesus, anything can happen.

So, our families have issues and things that are not right, but God is bigger than that. He’s able to do miracles and bring good out of the bad.

This is just one reason why we thank God for our family.

4th – Today.

It’s good to give God thanks for today! Here we are, it’s Thanksgiving. We get the chance to have this day because He gave it. This is the day the Lord has made. Sometimes the best thing we do is give Him thanks for the day we have.

Today is the chance for a miracle, to give God praise, to grow, to learn, to love, to give, to expand, to be healed, to have hope, to see people, and to be a part of community.

Oh yes, today is a great day to give God thanks, no matter what we’re facing.

This is important because we give thanks for who He is and what He’s done, more than how we feel and what we’re facing. This is a vital part of our faith that we must practice. We give Jesus thanks because he’s God, He’s good and we’re His.

Today is a great time to give Him thanks and let Him help us make the most of what we have!

5th – Your friends/community.

God refreshes us with our friends and community. We need others and we thrive with others. We are not made to live in isolation, rather, we are made to live in community and connect with other people. This is the plan of God for you and me.

This is why it’s good to give God thanks for the friends and community He’s brought into our lives. They help make our lives complete as nothing in our lives is made to do alone. Everything is with others, for others, and through others.

We’re better when we have friends and community in our lives. When we’re frustrated, annoyed, accountable, convicted, and challenged, this is good. God is changing something in us through the process.

So today, I encourage you to be thankful for the friends and community you have. Give God your heart of praise and let someone know what they mean to you.

Making this our lifestyle is how we flourish and grow as a person. Being thankful does great things in us and produces great things through us.

Like the old song said, “He’s done so much for me, I cannot tell it all.”

Happy Thanksgiving and let your heart be lifted with gratitude and praise!!

God is with you and the best is yet to come,

PD