THE DISCIPLINE OF GRATITUDE

The Discipline of Gratitude

The Monday after Thanksgiving, I Invited my Facebook Friends to join me in a 29-day Gratitude challenge. The daily assignment was to journal at least 5 things for which we were grateful.

Gratitude of the heart and expressions of thanksgiving is an act of discipline. More importantly, it’s to be a characteristic of those who believe in and have faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in his letter to the church at Thessalonica. I love the way it reads in The Message Bible: “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

I needed the challenge because it’s easy for me to get sidetracked over what is broken, missing, or complicated in my life. Thanksgiving tends to shift my mind and heart toward what is good. It encourages me to move forward. It reminds me to look up to the sustainer of my soul, Jesus.

I started out strong, recording daily. But then I got sidetracked. There were days of blank pages. They weren’t blank because I wanted them to be. Some days were full of activity, thoughts, and spiritual warfare. As a result, gratitude journaling fell off my radar. Yikes!!

 It is easy to forget to give thanks. It’s easy to let the busyness of life stop the flow of expressing love to our God through gratitude. It’s easy to elevate our needs, problems, and agendas above gratitude.

However, I decided not to fret over the empty pages but instead continue to press toward the further development of the discipline of gratitude.

While my journal contained less than 29 pages perfect pages, I would like to share some highlights.

Good Health and the discipline to make it a reality.

Family

The Lord’s protection, faithfulness, and provision

God’s grace to make it through the stressful days and heavy loads.

Peace to navigate life.

Forgiveness

The continued transformation of my heart

Healing for friends and family members who are experiencing health challenges

Victory over the enemy

Grace to move forward with confidence in God despite my aging body.

The whispered reminders of the Holy Spirit to depend on His strength and not my own.

Whether written or verbally expressed, we owe God thanks. Life happens to all of us. Tribulation comes, rocking us to the core. Our souls become downcast as we experience life in the valley. We witness great mountains that seem unconquerable and immovable. Yet we must journey on. We must move forward in rejoicing. Let’s not allow anything or anybody to stop us from remembering to say Thanks.

 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:1, ESV).

Blessings,

Phyllis