ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
The podcasts, blogs, sermons preached and all the leftovers are thrown away (or at least should be). Thanksgiving is over and now we are in the fast-paced time leading to the holidays. It is easy to lose our thankfulness in this season of the year. Our minds are busy with decorating, finding the perfect gift, going to all the parties and what we are going to wear. We are thinking about all the things of this world that will dissolve away one day. There are many who are feeling sadness because they are alone or they have lost loved ones. Some are worried about their job or lack thereof, where are they going to get gifts for their children. Some don’t have enough food or even a place to live. Some are stressed because of so much that needs to be done. Where has all the thankfulness gone?
Did you realize that there is always something to be thankful for, even in the worst of situations? There was a time I was bitter towards my husband. I was working twelve-hour days, two jobs-sometimes three jobs, trying to keep up with our teenage daughter and all her activities, besides all the normal things to keep up with in my home. He was home, usually sleeping-not bathing-not doing anything except playing solitaire on his computer. He was mentally and physically sick for a total of ten years and especially for two years when he was in a deep depression. I had tried to not be bitter but was having a hard time. I prayed with tears, to God to help me get this out of my heart. I turned to His word. I read Philippians 4:6-7. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” That was the answer! That word thanksgiving “jumped” out at me. Thru that word, I knew what to do! I started thanking God for one thing about my husband every day, all day long. It took me awhile. It had taken time to get that bitterness built up in my heart. But as the days went by, with me praying thanksgiving every day, that churning, heavy feeling in my chest went away. There were times I started feeling that heaviness starting to build up again. But through God’s word, I knew what to do.
My attitude had been so negative! Do you know what happened to my attitude when I started thanking God for my husband? My attitude started to become positive! When we don’t center our thoughts on ourselves but others, we are taking the focus off ourselves and onto God. No matter what our circumstances, we are to be thankful to God for what He HAS done. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This verse does not say to be thankful to God, when things are going good in our lives but rather in EVERYTHING. No matter if we are in grief-no matter when we are lonely-no matter in the lean years-no matter if we don’t know where we are going to get our next meal for our family-no matter when there is just so much, we want to get done! God is still on the throne. God is still in charge. God gave His only Son on that cruel cross of Calvary for us so we have the hope of eternal life one day. We just have to get out of ourselves and our own way, and reach out to the only true One who has the pathway to have peace.
Psalm 100:4-5 reads, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” We are to pray in thankfulness, not because of who we are, but rather about who God was in the past, who God is in the present and who God will be in the future! We pray in thanksgiving, for what He has done. We praise Him, for who He is! If you want to know how to be thankful, read the Psalms. Even in the troubles that David found himself in, he realized the need for thanking and praising God.
Do you remember the Israelites and all the things they had to be thankful for? God brought them out of Egyptian bondage-fed them-their shoes did not even wear out-gave them water-protected them as they were fleeing the bondage. We could go on and on of all the things the Israelites had to be thankful for. But yet Exodus and Numbers record over and over again, that the Israelites complained and grumbled. I think my memory is bad, but they were even more forgetful than I am of what they had to be thankful for. Read of their grumbling in Exodus and Numbers. Chapter 16 of Numbers, says they complained to Aaron and Moses, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” God had just caused the Red Sea to part and they had just walked on dry land and then God caused the Red Sea to fall and to drown the Egyptians. God had sweetened the water so they could have something to drink. God had sent manna and quail from heaven to feed them. But they ended up getting tired of eating the same thing over and over! What did they do? They grumbled. Thru this incessant grumbling, we see God’s patience and love to them. Moses talked to God and asked Him to pardon His people. One thing I want you to remember is in this verse. Numbers 14:22-23 says, “because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.” Their punishment for all their grumbling, was not being able to go into the land of Caanan-the promised land! The land they had been pressing forward towards for all those many years.
Do you think if we are not thankful and do not have the attitude of gratitude, that we could be lost eternally? That is something to think about, isn’t it? Thankfulness gives us power. If we make the choice to speak thankfulness over and over again, it can change us for the better! I don’t want to be lost eternally because of not having an attitude of gratitude. Do you?
Let go of that sour attitude of grumbling, complaining and put on the positive attitude of thankfulness! We are going to have pain in our lives. That is a fact. But there is always something to be thankful for. Sometimes that thankfulness is like a little light shining in the darkness. But that light of God is there, as a beacon pulling us to Him. Thankfulness is a choice we make. Be thankful for the mundane, every day happenings in your life! Be thankful for hot water-for the laughter of our children or grandchildren-that the dishwasher is working-that you got home safely from work. I could go on and on. EVERY SITUATION WE ARE IN, THE GOOD OR THE BAD, EVEN WHEN GOD’S ANSWER IS NO, THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN BE THANKFUL FOR IF WE JUST OPEN UP OUR MINDS AND HEARTS TO FIND IT.
So, what attitude do you find yourself in today? Reach out for the positivity of the attitude of gratitude! Start out your day with thankfulness and you might be surprised about your attitude change for the entire day! Start your day out with thanksgiving and end your day with thanksgiving. End this year and begin the new year with the attitude of gratitude! You will feel better and closer to our Father God!
Till next time!
Keela
(I will touch base with you again in the new year. I’m taking a few weeks off. I am thankful for all of you who take time out of your busy lives to read my blog. Thank you for the many comments you send my way. They help me to keep going on this pathway. Enjoy the beauty and joy of this season. Hold those you love close. Reach out to those who need some extra love and care. And remember to always be thankful for the everyday happenings in your life!)