Let me give you one example from last week. We were still in Spain, enjoying time with our son and his family, but Spain was very cold last week. It was too cold to go to the beach. We stayed bundled up, didn't drift far from the small heater in the living area, and, due to a broken-down boiler, had no hot water. It was like survival tactics in full swing, cold showers and all. But instead of feeling the discomfort, complaining, or allowing my mind to create too many "fix-it" ideas. I listened to the Lord and just thanked Him for the time with our precious family, the memories we were making, and the safety and hospitality of their home. We lovingly enjoyed our time.
This simple tactic leads to a much happier life, helping us see the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord in every situation.
Dick Brogden wrote a devotion on a better life, using Psalm 63:3: "Thy loving kindness is better than life."
He wrote, "We enter the better life not by trying to be good but by accepting what Jesus has done for us and using our energy to seek Him. It is impossible to run in two different directions at the same time. Those who run hardest after Jesus need not concentrate on running away from sin - you cannot run after Jesus and run after sin at the same time."
How true! This idea of single-mindedness, of running after Jesus, and choosing thankfulness as your mindset, produces the better life we so desire. It follows along with the Bible word "blessed." Happy or blessed is the man who follows God's Word.
Brogden listed three qualities that arise from a better life.
1. Lips that praise. Letting your world know you trust in a holy and all-powerful God worthy of praise. And oh, how praise lifts your heart into a better place.
2. Blessing God by how you live, choosing to obey and do all as unto Him so as not to damage His reputation. It's a matter of respecting the Lord - fearing Him. Pleasing Him becomes the soul's primary desire. It produces confidence and a deep, abiding happiness. 1 John 2:28 comes to my mind. "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
3. Soul Satisfaction - Knowing Jesus is enough. He can meet every need. "Living without temporal clutter," is how Brogden put it. I like that imagery. How often are our minds and desires cluttered with temporary things that leave us disappointed or unsatisfied, looking for the next kick? When our seeking is confined to His pleasure, we know satisfaction and contentment through the godliness growing in our spiritual lives. We are satisfied with Jesus, where He has us, and what He is doing in our lives.
And as I made notes on his devotion in my journal, I added one more quality, thankfulness. This must naturally rise from a heart that recognizes God's blessing and hand.
Let me challenge you to examine your words. Are they words of praise or words of complaining? And what about how you are living your life? Are you being a blessing to God or a little stinker? And what temporal clutter keeps you away from that deep abiding in Christ? Can you honestly say you have an attitude of thankfulness, or are you more often than not, discontent and judgmental?
It really does matter, for if you are going to fulfill the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks," it can't be an on-again, off-again proposition. Thankfulness needs to be the prevailing attitude in all circumstances. Thankfulness that causes you to yield to Him, praise His name, live according to His word, and rest your soul's desires in His desires.
So, for another week, and hopefully throughout all of 2026, I will still be in the same spot, thanking Him, for "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1Thessalonians 5:18). I hope you'll join me.
