What you choose affects how you feel

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"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High." (Psalm 7:17)

Which words stand out for you in that verse? Which ones affect the way you read all the others? Read the verse again slowly, emphasizing those words.

For me, the words "I will" are the ones that drive all the rest. They speak of intentionality, of conscious, deliberate choice. They speak of awareness of reality apart from flights of feeling.

"I will" says that I choose thankfulness and praise when I feel disappointed. It is not a denial of disappointment, but an acknowledgement that God is bigger than my little corner of His world.

If we were to speak all day long of the things for which God is worthy of praise and thanksgiving, we could not exhaust the list. And the amazing truth is that we are much more likely to FEEL thankful if we have deliberately chosen to BE thankful.

QUESTION: What is your "I will" today?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"Humble" Thanksgiving

 

 

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"You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed." (Romans 3:23-24, The Voice)

"We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us as long as we think we are sufficient in and of ourselves. We must enter into His kingdom through the door of destitution.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)

On this Thanksgiving Day, we pause to consider the blessings of God. Unfortunately, our expressions of thanksgiving are often no more than a tip of the hat to God as we go on about the business of our self-sufficient lives. We speak words and prayers of thanks, but live as if it all depends on us.

Sometimes we are even aware of those in need and we pray for them, asking God to bless them and thanking Him that we are not like them. But, apart from the unmerited grace of God, we are like them.

My prayer for today is that I will remember how utterly dependent I am on the grace of God. I will likely be called on to offer the prayer at a large family gathering today. I am praying even now for The Lord to put me in the proper frame of mind.

"Happy Thanksgiving" seems a shallow greeting. Perhaps we should wish one another a "Humble Thanksgiving."

How will you cultivate a proper sense of gratitude today?

I'd love to hear your ideas on cultivating gratitude.  Please leave a comment below.

Gratitude Attitudes

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  "Open your mouths with thanks! Sing praises to the Eternal! Strum the harp in unending praise to our God Who blankets the heavens with clouds, sends rain to water the thirsty earth, and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside. He opens His hands to feed all the animals and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry. He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses; He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter. But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him, those who invest hope in His unfailing love." (Psalm 147:7-11, The Voice)

As we begin Thanksgiving week, I wonder if we can begin to shape our gratitude attitudes around the awareness of who God is and what He does. Will we be thankful to Him? Will He take pleasure in us?

How did you worship Him with thanksgiving today?