A Grateful Heart
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
Psalm 107:1 NLT
His faithful love endures forever.”
Lloyd Ogilvie tells about a little boy’s Thanksgiving Day greeting to him one Sunday after church: “He shook my hand and said, ‘Happy Thanksliving!'” As Ogilvie says, this isn’t a bad description for true thanksgiving. When we learn to live each day in gratitude, it transforms us into the people God wants us to be. It fills us with joy and peace and leads us into the abundant life God wants for His children. This week we discuss how to develop a grateful heart, not just for Thanksgiving, but for Thanksliving.
Begin Each Day with Gratitude
“Gratitude takes root and grows fruit when you set your mind on it and return to it day by day. To remember to do this, begin your days, prayers, or conversations with gratitude. Just keep gratitude at the forefront of your mind.”
The Weekly Gratitude Project
The first step for developing a grateful heart is making a conscious effort to be thankful. This sounds simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. I am not good at this. It seems like my mind always drifts toward thoughts that leave me feeling unfulfilled: what I wish I had, what I wish I didn’t have, what I wish would happen, what I wish didn’t happen, what I wish for the future, what I wish I could change in the past, what I wish . . . . On and on my mind spins, circling with thoughts of what I want. And there’s the problem. When I’m so focused on me, I’m not focused on God. I’m not in tune to Him, and I may miss the gifts He’s given me. Gratitude shifts our attention back to God. It gives us eyes to see the amazing things He’s doing for us, in us, and all around us. The habit of thankfulness begins by just deciding to do it. Every morning, begin the day with gratitude.
“Come to Me with a thankful heart so that you can enjoy My Presence. This is the day that I have made. I want you to rejoice today, refusing to worry about tomorrow. Search for all that I have prepared for you, anticipating abundant blessings and accepting difficulties as they come. I can weave miracles into the most mundane day if you keep your focus on Me.”
Sarah Young, Life in His Presence
Acknowledge God as the Source of All Good Things
“God’s fingerprints can be seen everywhere in His creation: on the friendships we enjoy, the food we eat, and the pleasures of family, work, and hobbies. . . . We should thank Him for all of life’s joys and allow them to draw us closer to Him. God welcomes prayers of thanksgiving for a simple meal, a lively conversation, a captivating book, and every other good thing. When we fail to acknowledge God as the Source of all good things, we fail to give Him the recognition and glory He deserves. We separate God from joy, which is like trying to separate heat from fire or wetness from rain.”
Randy Alcorn, Seeing the Unseen
John Ortberg suggests practicing the spiritual discipline of celebration by devoting one day a week to enjoying your favorite things: food, music, sports, books, clothes, beauty, . . . anything that makes you happy. And as you celebrate these things, give thanks to God for His generosity. We can worship God in any activity if we include Him in it. Time with God shouldn’t be just another item on our to-do list, something to get to if we have time. God wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives. All we have to do is shift our mindset. As we enjoy good food, inspiring books, beautiful sunsets, or lively conversations, let’s turn our thoughts to God and thank Him for His wonderful goodness. When we do this, we are not only enjoying the gifts, we are learning to take delight in the gift Giver.
“Reflect on what a gracious God he is to have thought of these gifts. Take the time to experience and savor joy, then direct your heart toward God so that you come to know he is the giver of ‘every good and perfect gift.’ Nothing is too small if it produces true joy and causes us to turn toward God in gratitude and delight.”
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted
Focus on Your Blessings
” . . . gratitude is a new window you can use to see the world. You may peer out and see the same old life, same old circumstances, and same old struggles. But among them, now you also see something good. Something hopeful. Something praiseworthy. Something to be thankful for.”
The Weekly Gratitude Project
I can’t remember where I read this, but it stuck with me: What if you woke up today with nothing except what you thanked God for yesterday? Makes you think, doesn’t it. Honestly, my life would look pretty sad if this happened. I often don’t take the time to thank God for all the incredible blessings He has given me. And then I wonder why I feel sad and unfulfilled! We have so many gifts that we take for granted. Simply taking the time to say “Thank You” for them can work wonders in our lives. Training ourselves to be grateful is hard work. It takes effort every minute of every day, but it’s worth it. Learning to develop a gratitude mindset leads to peace, joy, hope, self-acceptance, fulfillment, and many other blessings. God doesn’t need our thanks. He doesn’t ask us to be thankful for His sake. He does so for ours. Cultivating a grateful heart is the first step toward the abundant life He has in store for us.
“When we receive God’s love for us, we have a profound experience of self-acceptance and appreciation. We no longer need to compare jealously or blow our own horn boastfully. We accept ourselves as accepted and loved by God. Our concern is to use what gifts we have, not in competitive comparison, but in thankful enthusiasm. Jealousy and boasting melt before the truth of God’s generosity. We become able to praise God for our own and others’ gifts.”
Lloyd John Ogilvie, God’s Best for My Life
Use Your Gifts to Bless Others
“God blesses us so that we might bless others. You may feel that you don’t have much to offer people, but you do. In fact, there are many ways that you can minister to others with the abilities and resources that God has given to you. . . . Therefore, count your blessings and look for opportunities to shine His light and love into others’ lives. Then watch how God works. Soon you’ll see that it truly is much more blessed to give than to receive.”
Charles F. Stanley, 30 Life Principles
Part of living life abundantly is letting God work though us to bless others. God gives us wonderful gifts, but they are meant to be used for His Kingdom. We are all given unique talents, abilities, personalities, and resources. God designed each one of us with a specific plan in mind. If we don’t use our gifts for His work, we miss out on our true calling and purpose. Discovering God’s will for our lives requires us to stay focused on Him so He can lead us. Gratitude helps us keep our eyes on Him and lets us see what gifts He has given us — gifts that can be used to help others. As we pray for opportunities to bless others, God will put people in our path we are uniquely qualified to help. In the meantime, we can do simple things every day to show others that they are loved: greet everyone we meet with a smile, listen to someone who needs a friendly ear, and let our friends and family know how grateful we are for them.
“God’s grace, plus our gratitude, equals greatness. When we give God the glory, greatness grows in our character. We become affirmers of others. When is the last time you told the people in your life that you are thankful for them?”
Lloyd John Ogilvie, God’s Best for My Life
End Each Day with Gratitude
“Plant your roots and build them up by letting gratitude become not only the way you begin but the way you end too. Don’t go to bed with negativity . . . . Our God is too good and His gifts are too great for us ever to run out of reasons to give thanks.”
The Weekly Gratitude Project
Begin each day with gratitude. Acknowledge God as the source of all good things. Focus on your blessings. Use your gifts to bless others. And end each day the way you began: with gratitude. This is how we learn to develop a grateful heart. This is how we let God transform us into the people He wants us to be and lead us into the abundant life He wants for us. This is how we become filled with joy and peace and hope.
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G. K. Chesterton
This week’s Scripture passages focus on gratitude and remind us to stay focused on God, the Source of all good gifts. Let’s praise God every day for all the blessings He has given us. Let’s learn to be filled with gratitude and wonder for all He has done. Blessings to you, my friends!
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 MEV
References:
- Alcorn, Randy. Seeing the Unseen, Expanded Edition: A 90-Day Devotional to Set Your Mind on Eternity. Multnomah, 2017.
- Ogilvie, Lloyd John. God’s Best for My Life. Harvest House Publishers, 1981.
- Ortberg, John. The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. Zondervan, 2002.
- Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
- The Weekly Gratitude Project: A Challenge to Journal, Reflect, and Grow a Grateful Heart. Zondervan, 2020.
- Young, Sarah. Life in His Presence: A Jesus Calling Guided Journal. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
Images:
- Autumn Leaf Heart featured image by Rebekka D from Pixabay
- Autumn Leaves image by silviarita from Pixabay (edited by me)
- Heart Cloud image by Kranich17 from Pixabay
- Apple Hearts image by 165106 from Pixabay (edited by me)
- Window Heart image by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash
- Heart Gift Bags image by Terri Cnudde from Pixabay
- Heart Moon image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay
- Dandelion Heart image by Kranich17 from Pixabay
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!