The other morning as I started my day with prayer, the Lord reminded me that gratitude is key. He said to my heart that He loves a grateful heart. Am I grateful all the time? I could do better. I could spend more time thanking the Lord for big things and for small things. Every time I read the Psalms I reminded of how grateful David was. He surely had a grateful heart and He shows a great example to all of us. I strongly encourage you to read the Psalms and to learn more about the heart of David. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. It is clear that David’s heart was filled with gratitude. He loved the Lord so much that He couldn’t stop thanking Him. David also expressed distress and pleaded the Lord to save him from torment. He didn’t awakes live on a bed of roses but his heart for the Lord was big and the gratitude that flew from it mattered a lot.
David talks about how his mind troubled him at times which highlights his human side but despite his difficulties, he praised the Lord and he thanked Him. We can do the same thing. We can praise the Lord and thank Him despite our troubles. It is normal for us to complain and to even feel forsaken by the Lord. When we read David’s Psalms we understand we are in good company. However, just like David, we can nurture a heart of praise and a grateful heart. Gratitude is key like the Lord said when I was praying. It is a key that opens many doors. Today I invite you to use the key of gratitude and to express it as much as possible.
David also declares that when He calls on the Lord, He rescues him. This is true for you and me. When we call on the Lord, He comes to our rescue. That is a great reason to be grateful to Him. No matter what we go through, God can rescue us. He deserves our praise and our celebration because He is good at all times even when the world is bad. God will always come to help us. He will make sure that we get through anything and everything when we rely on Him. I thank the Lord for His goodness and for His faithfulness every day. That is how I start my prayers most of the time. I know that His goodness and His faithfulness will never change so every day I can mention them and be thankful for them. Find things about the Lord that you can talk about and be grateful for.
Study God in His Word and show gratitude for what you know about Him. His eternal love is another thing that I am grateful for every single day. I am here because of His love. We are saved because of His love. We are blessed because of His love. We are protected because of His love. We have eternal life because of His love. We will always make it because of His love. We love because He first loved us. God’s love is the main reason you and I should be thankful every day. Our hearts of gratitude should echo His love and spread it. His love is the start of all good things. It is His love that guides us into all good things and that helps us love others. Thank God every day for His amazing love!
If I didn’t have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, living out my Christian life would be very difficult. I am very thankful for the Holy Spirit. I acknowledge Him in what I do. I can do a better job with that but I am on my way. I am learning how to include Him more in my life. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit. He is a wonderful gift we should celebrate and we should be thankful for. Friend, thank Jesus for the Holy Spirit all the time. Let your heart of gratitude speak about the Holy Spirit and keep Him inside. When I ignore the Holy Spirit, I see that something is missing and something seems off. He is the gift that should always be present in my mind. The less I focus on the Lord and on His gift, the more my mind can wander down dire roads.
We have the Spirit of Jesus in us. It is such a tremendous blessing. The Holy Spirit is gentle and loving and He is the perfect counselor. Name all the things He does in your life. Go down the list of what makes Him who He is. Be thankful for all His traits and for His influence on your life. There are many reasons for you and me to be thankful every day and the Word of God lists all these reasons. Let’s have a grateful heart as much as we can. Gratitude is the key that opens the doors to blessings and to peace and joy. A life of gratitude is a life of victory in the Lord. Thank God for God! May God bless you and protect you and remember that He will always love you!
Suggested reading: Ezra 3:11; Psalm 7:17; Psalm 100:4-5
Words of hope for today 