An Attitude of Gratitude

photo Credit: Creative Commons with limited editing done by Dayna Bickham

Thankfully 

This is how I want to live my life: thankfully. In active gratitude. I told you yesterday that entitlement is dangerous. I believe it is and this is why: because entitlement forgets grace. 

Grace is God's love at work in our lives. When we forget this grace, when we ignore God's hand in our day-to-day lives, we run the risk of living with an attitude of entitlement rather than an attitude of gratitude. We take God for granted and forget there is no reason except His love for His favor in our lives. 

So as you read this are you nodding your head in agreement? 

Good. 

Now here is the challenge: 

Examine yourself. 

Where can you show more gratitude and less attitude? Toward your husband? Toward your Mother-in-law? What about your boss, who probably isn't saved so they don't "get it". 

If I were to hazard a guess, I would say there is at least one area you could use more gratitude in. Do you know why? Because, we all fall short somewhere. 

I am preaching to the choir, believe me. 

So this is what I want you to do, and I am going to do the same and share my results with you. Today we need to find three things we are thankful for. Small, medium or large, these things are something you are willing to share and give a brief explanation why you are grateful for them. 

I will go first. 

My List

1. I am grateful for my kids. 

    As much as I complain about parenting, my kids are the greatest gift (outside of salvation) that God has

    ever given me. They bring me more joy than heartache and that is what I need to remember when things

    get tough. 

2. I am grateful for early mornings. 

    This is when I get time to read and pray. I get ideas for this blog, I write, I even just sit back and listen to 

    praise and worship music. These quiet times are rare and I have to discipline myself to get up, but they are

    worth the effort, every time. 

3. I am grateful for you. 

    I write because I am called to, but I am glad I have you to share this blog with. You pray with me, laugh

   with me, cry with me, and cringe with me. You make the job of writing more than a chore, you make it an

   adventure! In you I see God's favor and increase. You are like His little kisses to me. Thank you for 

   showing up everyday and thank you for sticking it out with me through all my hiccups and growing pains as 

   as a blogger. 

 

Join the Conversation: 

Now it is your turn. What are you grateful for and why? 

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Why?

The Question We All Ask 

Why? Why me? Why not me? Why her? Why him? Why now? Why not now? We have all asked God the one question: why? Why do bad things happen to good people? 

I know I have. When the hurt of my parent’s divorce was too much, I would ask why. When my daughter got diagnosed with epilepsy I asked why. I know when parents lose children why is a question they have too. When we face loss or hardship “why” is the most often asked question. A close second would be, “if only”. 

Questioning God is okay. 

The Psalmist David did it and God called him a man after His own heart. We just can’t stay in that place of questioning. 

My pastor brought this subject up in our Wednesday night Bible Study and I want to share some of the things that were said, and some things I heard in my spirit when we were discussing this age old question “why?”. 

Psalm 13 For the music leader: a song of David.(CEB) 

1 How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I be left to my own wits, agony filling my heart? Daily? 2 How long will my enemy keep defeating me? 3 Look at me! Answer me, Lord my God! Restore sight to my eyes! 4 Otherwise, I’ll sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, “I won!” My foes will rejoice over my downfall. 5 But I have trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your salvation. 6 Yes, I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me. 

Sometimes when I read this passage or ones like it I wonder; was this man bipolar? He goes from despair to rejoicing so quickly, but then again don’t we all do this, just in the opposite order? I know I have gone from happy and rejoicing to despair in no time flat before. It doesn't mean I am bipolar, it means I am human. 

The Psalmist has it right here. 

We can question, (like he does in the first two verses) and we can petition (as he does in the second two verses) and then we need to remember how well taken care of by our Father we really are. We need to recall all the things He has done and rejoice in those things. 

First, we overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony. Secondly, when we pray in faith, believing, then we ask and we receive. The answer is on the way, just believe. 

What if the answer is no? 

What then? You Stand. No one knows better than Jesus what it is like to hear “no” to a prayer. 

In the garden, before the soldiers came, Jesus prayed. With so much fervor that he bled drops of blood. He prayed this: Let there be another way to save the world, “Let this cup pass” from me. Thank God the Father said no! In saying no to Jesus God said yes to all of us! In that one “No” He made a way for salvation, healing and victory for everyone: through Jesus. 

God told Moses no when Moses asked permission to cross into the Promise Land. This is what God said: “…and the Lord said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.”

Sometimes, the answer is no. 

That is just the way it is. 

Being a Christian is not a solution to all your problems. We don’t have a wand to wave over our issues and they magically disappear just because we asked God for something. Trust in the Lord: voluntarily, not begrudgingly, faithfully, not here a little and there a little. 

It’s Raining NOW! 

So when trouble comes, and it will, (it rains on the just and the unjust) remember that our victory is in what Jesus did, not in whether or not we feel better after a prayer. 

Our victory is not in the immediate relief of our pain, but in the fact that we can petition God ourselves and no longer need intermediaries. 

Our victory is in the fact that Jesus already defeated Satan and all we have is a little time on this earth, and all our problems will go away and we will stand in heaven before the throne of God worshiping Him and reveling in His mercy and goodness. 

The Psalmist David did not have his answer yet. But he knew the answer was on the way. He began rejoicing, because he knew that despite what he faced in that moment, God was faithful. God had always answered before, and he trusted that the answer was on the way. 

Be Courageous. Ask why, but don’t forget to trust. God grants peace in the storm. 

Join the Conversation:  

Have you ever asked why before? Can you tell us about it? Leave a comment below.