Thanksgiving. It’s a holiday that is centered on a meal, a parade, and a couple football games. It’s a holiday that’s something of an afterthought as we jump from Halloween to Christmas, but it’s important that we take time to be thankful.

There’s a strange connection between thankfulness and joy. We get this backwards sometimes, I think. We are often tempted to think we would be more thankful if only we had more things to be thankful for. If only we had the promotion we’ve been hoping for. If only we got into the right school. If only we were married. If only we had children. If only we had a bigger house or a nicer car or a larger bank account. If only. If only this or that would happen, then I could be really thankful. If only . . .

All of us can look at our lives and make a list of “if onlys.” All of us have areas or aspects of our lives we wish were different. But what happens is we get the proverbial cart before the horse. We are convinced that our thankfulness is dependent on how much joy we have in our live. If only I had more things to be joyful about, the more thankful I would be.

Yet, when I look back at my life, what I notice is that the answering of these “if onlys” have very little effect on the amount of joy I feel. What does impact the joy I have in my life is my level of thankfulness. The times when I have had the least amount of joy and the least amount of contentment in my life were the times when I was the least thankful. And the times when I was overflowing with joy were the times when I felt and expressed deep thankfulness for the blessings I’d been given. Did I have more good things happening to me during those times? No, not at all. What I did have was a proper perspective of how God was working in my life and the wonderful gifts he had given me.

A heart that expresses thankfulness is a heart that has the ability to know and feel great joy. Conversely, a heart that is cold or hardened and unable to express thanksgiving is a heart that is impervious to joy. When we focus on being thankful, our eyes shift away from our discontentment, away from the “if onlys,” and toward the overwhelming joys God offers us. When we focus on our disappointments we are living out a self-fulfilling prophecy and we will dwell with bitterness, resentment, and anger.

During this holiday of Thanksgiving, I want to encourage you to take a moment (or maybe two) and verbalize your thankfulness for the good things in your life. What you might just find is that along with turkey and cranberry sauce, you begin to be filled with joy. And maybe along with Psalm 28 we can shout with thanksgiving in such a way that our hearts will leap with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope it’s a joyful one.

Nic Cox