November 22, 2012
The Attitude of Gratitude
“When we bless God for mercies, we prolong them. When we bless God for miseries, we usually end them. Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace.”
- Charles Spurgeon
Come let us praise the Lord! Let us sing for joy to the God, who protects us! Let us come before him with thanksgiving and sing joyful songs of praise.
Psalms 95:1-2
It has been said, ‘If you want to find gratitude, look for it in the dictionary.
Considering that today is Thanksgiving Day, this axiom sounds a bit out of place, doesn’t it?
Yet how often do we as Christians find ourselves relegating our attention towards thankfulness that transcends the superficial, to almost a minimal status, on the remaining three hundred and sixty four days of the year?
This is not to imply that we don’t offer a cursory thanks to God for His blessings on an occasional basis: but how often do we take the time to be genuine, heartfelt and earnestly thankful for blessing both tangible and intangible that we receive continuously?
Does our gratitude extend beyond the mere utterance of a few words of appreciation? Do we allow ourselves to be more demonstrative with our gratitude or do we think that God should be thankful that we bothered to say thanks?
A real attitude of gratitude goes beyond a spoken word: and even beyond a song or two sung in praise on a Sunday morning: true gratitude is proven out by the commitments we make and the behaviors we demonstrate.
A true heart of gratitude is akin to art of worship – it is a lifestyle, not an event.
While most of us will pause today to give a special proclamation of thankfulness for the bounty of the days and months that have passed and the blessing that have filled them, since last Thanksgiving: may we also make a commitment to live a life for the next three hundred and sixty four days between now and next Thanksgiving, that is indicative of a true attitude of gratitude for who God is, what He means to us and all that He does in each of our lives.
Today’s Prayer
Father, the words thank you are comprised of only eight little letters: but the number eight is indicative of new beginnings. May I have a new beginning as I give thanks this year in not only verbalizing my appreciation; but also actualizing it in the days and weeks ahead by the life I choose to lead and the way I chose to live it.
“There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit, who brings a fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home.
Frustrated brother see how he’s tired to
light his own candle some other way.
See now your sister she’s been robbed and lied to
Still holds a candle without a flame.
So carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn.
Hold out your candle for all to see it,
Take your candle, go light your world.“
- Lyrics from ‘Go Light Your World’ by Chris Rice
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