Every day is cause for Thanksgiving

"Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done." Psalm 105:1 NLT

Ask any runner what they love most about running and they might tell you that it's because it allows them to eat whatever they want. Which begs the question, “If we run a lot, can we eat like every day is Thanksgiving and not suffer any consequences?” The majority of runners would answer, “Yes. As long as the numbers aren’t moving up on the scale.” But in reality, Aaron Baggish, M.D., director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said, “Just because the number on the scale seems healthy doesn’t mean your diet isn’t doing damage on the inside. Time and time again, I meet runners in their 50s and 60s, who think they’ve done pretty much everything right in their life from a health perspective, who end up with heart disease." Dr. Baggish went on to say that overindulgence in simple sugars was the single most common dietary transgression among endurance athletes. “Eat large portions of these, and the body turns them into bad molecules, bad types of fat, bad oxidative sugar species—things that do a lot of damage to the heart vessels.”

And while you and I shouldn't eat like every day is Thanksgiving--ingesting pies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and rolls--there's one thing that we should do every day like it's Thanksgiving. And that's giving "thanks to the Lord." But not just giving thanks with our lips but with our lives; something we do by proclaiming God's greatness, living for Him each day, and letting "the whole world know what he has done." You see, thanksgiving, or our expression of gratitude to God (especially publicly), not only benefits us because it fills our hearts with joy but is our testimony to the world that God is good and worthy to be praised... something that has the power to compel the lost to seek Him. 

So in the words of Charles Spurgeon, "Look downward and give thanks, for you are saved from hell; look on the right hand and give thanks, for you are enriched with gracious gifts; look on the left hand and give thanks, for you are shielded from deadly ills; look above you and give thanks, for heaven awaits you." Happy Thanksgiving friends. We have so much to be thankful for!

Heavenly Father, thank You for being a God who is worthy of all our praise, honor, and worship. Cause us to understand just how good You are that we would be unable to keep silent and would daily proclaim Your greatness to the world. Help us to practice thanksgiving each and every day Lord that we might inspire others to seek You. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!