Attitude of Gratitude

by Laurie Ness

"I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
   I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High."  Psalm 9:1,2

What a happy and joyful heart those words reflect.  Of course, happy and joyful are not always equal.  Happiness is an emotion.  Joy is an attitude.  Joy can be chosen in the worst of unhappy times. 

Whether we find ourselves in happy or unhappy circumstances this Thanksgiving season, let us choose joy by focusing on all we have for which to be grateful.  In fact, let's go beyond that and choose a grateful heart every day of the year!

What about those mundane or irritating circumstances we face every day?  Can we be thankful for those?  Absolutely!  Let's "strike out" those grumpy thoughts and replace them with gratitude.  For example:

"Where does all this laundry come from?!"   "I'm so glad my family has clothes to wear."

"Ugh!  All these dishes!"   "Thank You, Lord, for each dear person who ate from these dishes!"

"So help me, if I hear that child whine one more time. . .!"    "I'm so thankful God gave you to me (but you're still not getting what you want with that tone of voice)."

"I ALWAYS pick the longest line at the grocery store!"  "Thankfully, I have plentiful choices of food and maybe an opportunity to reach out to someone else waiting in this line."

"I'll never have the longing of my heart fulfilled."    "Thanks, Lord, for allowing things to happen in Your timing, since You know better than I do!"

"Why does my husband have to annoy me today?"  "Help me, Lord, to bless my husband today."

"I HATE working out!"   "Isn't it great that my body is strong enough to move like this?"

You get the idea!  My grandma always told me, "There's something good in every situation.  Sometimes you have to look extra hard to find it, but it's there!"  My grandma was a very pleasant, content woman.  Just think of the stress and emotional baggage we can eliminate from our lives if we truly choose to look at the bright side of things.  That doesn't mean we'll never feel sadness, anger, hurt or other negative emotions.  If we decide to focus on gratitude for the good, though, the negative feelings are free to process their way through and out of us rather than hanging on, transforming into rancid bitterness and wreaking havoc on our physical bodies as well.

God is glorified when we thank Him from a sincere heart.  But, in His goodness, He has allowed gratitude to be beneficial to us as well.  Thinking gratefully, though, doesn't always come naturally.  We need God's help.  Frequent prayer and reading of Scripture verses on gratitude will help immensely!  But we also have to be willing to submit to God's work in our hearts--willing to let go of our irritations or grudges.  That's much easier said than done.  We can choose to do it anyway!

Let's practice gratitude, sisters! :)

Further Reading:

Psalm 92:1-2
1Thessalonians 5:15-18
Colossians 3:17

Choosing Gratitude:  Your Journey to Joy, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss