January 8, 2020: Gratitude 

Happy Wednesday and National “For Pete’s sake get those Christmas trees down” Day. I hope your week is going well and you thought a little more about patience yesterday. Today, I can’t stop thinking about gratitude and the many times we just miss opportunities to be genuinely thankful and to express it to one another. Maybe with all the gifts, maybe we just have too much, but we are not a very thankful people. In my observation, we criticize, complain and moan much more than offer words of thanksgiving. 


“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:16-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Isn’t it amazing how your attitude can change when you spin a complaint around to a thanksgiving? For example, yesterday I heard a lady tell about the two aisles of cereal in her hometown grocery store and she couldn’t find hers. It had been moved to the bread aisle. She said “The bread aisle of all places! And then, I thought how blessed we are to live in a country that is so rich and so abundant that we can have so very many choices!” 


Her whole outlook on her day was affected because she chose to “give thanks in every circumstance!” And notice Paul does not say “for” every circumstance but “in” every circumstance. Every situation is not going to be wonderful, but while we walk through awful times, we can at the very least be thankful we are not alone. Spurgeon says that “when joy and prayer are married, their firstborn child is gratitude.” 


Dear Lord, thank you for making it possible for us to rejoice and pray always and to give thanks in every situation we find ourselves. You are good and you are kind. You are our God, the breath in our lungs, and we pour out our praise to you only. What a wonderful Savior you are. Help us today Father to be mindful of the opportunities we have to turn complaints into gratitude and criticism into rejoicing. Help us to love others as you first loved us. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one, 

Pam



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