Gratefulfeatured

Before I started this website, I was told that I should have six months’ worth of content ready before launching the site.  For me that meant 26 devotionals already written.  I had zero!  God, however, gave me a strong sense that I was to ignore this “worldly wisdom” and simply trust Him to provide.  So here I am writing my 25^th devotional and trusting that God will continue to provide me topics to write about. 

Now let me acknowledge up front that the topic the He has given me for this week, gratitude, is not an amazingly creative topic for the month of November, but hey, it’s what He wants me to write about!  And more than that, He wants me to live as a grateful person.  

The Bible is full of many examples of gratitude and thanksgiving, but I found three examples of grateful people that stood out for me:  David, Jesus and Paul.  In looking at their expressions of gratitude, I identified three tips on how to live in gratitude.

The Psalms are chock-full of David’s expressions of gratitude.  The volume of his expressions tells me that he lived as grateful person.  Now David had his ups and downs (don’t we all!), but he had a grateful heart in the midst of the highs and the lows.  Psalms 105 and 106 might give us a clue about the secret to having a grateful heart.  They both start with the phrase, “Give thanks to the Lord.”  Psalm 105 recounts the faithfulness of God through the history of the Israelites. In Psalm 106, David remembers God’s faithfulness, love and mercy for His people in spite of their sinfulness.  The tip here, I believe, is that a grateful heart comes in part from remembering what God has done in our lives.  Sometimes, I can be very forgetful when it comes to recalling what God has done in my life.  I get caught up in my current worry or fret and deny myself the peace that would come from remembering His history of faithfulness and provision for me.

Since Jesus lived without sinning, I can only conclude that He must have lived as a grateful person!  The Bible contains many of His words and deeds that reflect that reality, but I was struck by the times that He explicitly thanked God.  Those times were when He was sharing a meal, either with thousands (Matthew 14:19 and 15:36) or just His disciples (Matthew 26: 26-27).  He thanked God for His provision in the present moment.  He wasn’t looking back to the past or into the future.  I think we, too, are called to thank God for what He is doing right now, whether it is a meal or a blessing that has come our way (small or large).  So often I am focused on my plans and my desires that I am blinded to His “right now” provisions for me.  He knows that I will find joy when I ask the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to see how God sprinkles His blessings abundantly into my life each day. 

The Apostle Paul probably used the word “thanks” more than any other person in the Bible.  He thanked God for all kinds of things.  What struck me this week was that in almost all of his letters he used some version of the phrase, “I thank God for you.”  He was profoundly grateful for the people who walked with Him in his faith journey and he told them how grateful he was.  There are people in my life for whom I am profoundly grateful but how often do I pause to tell them how grateful I am for them?  I wonder how many opportunities I have missed when God desired for me to encourage or bless someone with my thanks?

So, our tips for grateful living from David, Jesus and Paul are:

1. Remember how God has faithfully worked in our lives.
2. Look for His blessings that are all around us each day.
3. Tell people who how much you appreciate them.

The painting this week is called “The Greatest Gift.”  It definitely has a Christmas theme, but perhaps in thinking about Christ’s birth, we may find a fourth tip.  I don’t think it is overstating it to say that all our gratitude springs from our response to God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ.  I know that, but again, I find I take it for granted and don’t express my gratitude to God often enough or fervently enough.  In 2 Corinthians 9:15, Paul utters what should be constantly in my heart and on my lips, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

These aren’t particularly profound insights, but I get so caught up in the business of the day that I find myself missing out on the joy and peace that God designed to come from a grateful heart.  This week I’m going to try (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to practice these tips consistently.  Why not join me?  I’ll be back next week with a progress report and perhaps some more thoughts on gratitude.  By the way, I am grateful for all of you! [jetpack_subscription_form]