Creating a Heart of Gratitude (Daily Refresh, 8-25-26)
One of the most powerful emotions is gratitude. If we can find ways to be thankful and grateful throughout our life, we will find the power and emotional strength to walk through some of life’s hardest seasons.
It’s not always easy to find ways to be thankful and grateful. But, one of the things Scripture teaches us throughout the Psalms is that there is always something to be grateful for.
The Psalms teach us various songs and poems for every season of our life. But more than that, they also teach us how to cultivate a heart of gratitude and worship towards God.
We belong to a God who loves us and cares deeply for us. God’s love and goodness will never end. Psalm 100:5 praises God for these things:
“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Through Psalms like this, we can begin to build a habit of gratitude towards God and all that He has done. We can thank God for what He has done in our lives, what He is currently doing, and what He will do in the future as we follow after Him.
Because God is always good, loving, and faithful, there is always something we can be grateful for—even in the midst of difficult seasons of life.
Take a few moments today to strengthen the habit of gratitude in your life.
– First, begin by thanking God for who He is: that He is good, faithful, and loving towards you.
– Next, thank God for all that He has done. Thank Him for the good things in your life, and that He has walked with you through the hard times.
– Lastly, thank God for all He will continue to do in the days and years to come. He is trustworthy!
My Thoughts
To be honest, when I first got my diagnosis of CHF, it was hard to be grateful. I was discouraged and grumpy with God. I couldn’t fathom how He could love me and allow me to have a lung problem with asthma, a single kidney that is failing and now a heart issue too. But, God’s Spirit got hold of me one day when I was spending time praying and reading my Bible and reminded me that God isn’t a God of sunshine and happiness all the time. Sometimes, we face a wilderness like Jesus and sometimes we have to face a powerful river with the enemy quickly approaching like Moses. But we don’t quit on God because He never quits on us.
I prayed to be able to travel to our granddaughter’s wedding. When I asked my doctor about it, I expected a firm “no” but instead he understood my deep desire to go, gave me a list of cautions and precautions and warnings about when to head to a hospital and told me to go ahead and travel. We had a wonderful trip! The wedding was memorably beautiful, with an invitation to salvation included in the ceremony. The dancing at the reception was great fun to watch even though I couldn’t participate. Our youngest grandson at one time was surrounded by a circle of bridesmaids and other young ladies as he did a break dance, gleefully entertaining an entire crowd and totally unaware of how everyone was watching him. (He is five.) Getting to know the groom’s family was a bonus since they are Christians too. So many delightful and memorable moments!
We stayed about five days with our daughter afterwards, enjoyed church service with them on Sunday after the Saturday wedding and just generally enjoyed family times. I played games with the granddaughters and relaxed with family. Then we traveled to Maryland and had five days with our son and his family there. We went out for a delicious lunch at a favorite restaurant for my birthday (number 75!) and then our daughter came down the following day to stay with us one night and celebrate my birthday again. God is good. I asked to be able to travel and God gave me answers to prayers that I didn’t even pray.
So in this season of learning to live with more restrictions, I am cultivating an attitude of gratitude. I like to start each day thanking God for His faithfulness in allowing me another day to praise Him and then I thank Him for all He has done and is doing. Life is hard; the weeds are attacking all the time. So cultivate gratitude with me. Together we can have a big supply to share with others. I think that gratitude is contagious, don’t you?
www.bible.com/reading-plans/72460/day/1
