Be Grateful - Part One
“Be grateful” is what I’ll be talking about for the next three to four weeks here.
Showing gratitude for who we have and what we have places us into a very healthy state of being, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
Take a look at Isaiah 12:4-5,
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the LORD in song, for He has done glorious things; let this be known throughout the earth.”
There are two very important points from the above scripture to help us be thankful.
First, here’s like a command, or a value to daily hold onto: “give thanks to the Lord.”
It goes hand in hand with another one that asks of us to “call on God’s name.” What that means is simply to make always have God at the center of it all.
Second, showing gratitude is that you choose to share about God’s deeds with others.
And, you don’t do it only for the sake of showing how much blessed you have been. You do it so that others can also exalt God’s name.
1) Be thankful for the people in your life
Give thanks for the people in your life!
Yes, I know, just like me, you wish you had never met some people in your life. I hear you and sometimes I do think alike.
However, in life, whether for the best or the worst, every person, we’ve gotten to know, is already a part of our journey. We may know why, but there’s a reason it is so.
Some people come and go. But, there are others who come and stay with us either for a long time, or until the end of our journey here on earth.
Knowing that God is in control of everyone and everything, God then knows why you and I have come to know the people we know now. Our daily mission is to show gratitude for each one of them, including those you think may have hurt you.
When David was in trouble with his own son trying to kick him out of power, and in his flight away from his son, he came across Shimei who curses him. When one of his generals wanted to harm Shimei, here’s what David said:
Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today. 2 Samuel 16:11-12.
So much to learn from David. Right? In addition to letting people alone, let’s say thanks for each one of them knowing that God is restoring to me God’s covenant blessing instead of the hurt and pain some relationships may have caused in our lives. Be grateful!
2) Be thankful for what you have
Give thanks for what you have!
It’s so easy to dwell on what we don’t have rather than on what we have. Complaints, and all types of miseries come out of that too.
A lot of times, we forget about what we have because we live in reference to what the media shows us, our neighbors, friends, or society.
Other times, it’s that we choose to focus on what we don’t have instead of what we already have.
Also, focus on what God is capable of doing. Remember that God has everything (and everyone) in HIS hands. God can do the unimaginable for you because you are so precious in God’s eyes.
Now, let’s practice “giving thanks” every day. You can start now through prayer.
Using the form below, you can send us your prayers. Also, you can join us in prayer through my Youtube channel.
We live at our best life, as Christians (and simply humans), when we do everything out of gratitude. So, choose to be grateful, no matter!
Remember to send us your prayer concerns
A couple of scriptures you could read for the rest of this week:
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
Psalm 103:1-4
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7
