An Attitude of Gratitude

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

I used to have a small notebook that I carried with me and kept handy at all times. I called it my Gratitude Journal. I made it a point to try to list at least five things every day for which I was thankful, or that I felt had been a blessing for me - things I was grateful for. 

As I sat here enjoying a hot drink and a muffin this beautiful sunny morning, I realized that with all the chaos of my recent move and life changes going on, I had gotten away from that habit. It's definitely time to start up my Gratitude Journal again. 

I've also noticed that sometimes when I pray, my prayers are full of needs for myself, or loved ones. Sometimes I am thinking so much of the needs, that I forget the praises! God has richly blessed me and I want Him to know that I am not only aware of His blessings, but that I truly appreciate them. 

I've been reading my Bible through this year and I've recently finished reading the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These four books in particular were quite an eye opener for me as I realized how much I fail to not only express, but to LIVE an attitude of gratitude! 

We've all heard or read stories of gratefulness and sometimes the overwhelming emotion that a person feels after their life has been saved by another. Some have told stories of making great changes in their lives because someone cared enough to save them. The tears, the "thank yous" and all the emotion are often so overwhelming that it can render the grateful person speechless at times.

I thought about this as I read about Christ's crucifixion and was dismayed at  what  I consider a lack of real life-changing gratitude that I have shown for what He went through and suffered on my behalf - the painful torture, the humiliation, and the abandonment by those closest to Him. If you read the story and really make it personal, as if Christ died for you alone, I truly believe that it will touch a whole new chord  within your soul. 

I thought about the story of the crucifixion for days. I thought about how I would react if another human being had taken a bullet for me, or jumped into an icy river to save me. There's no humiliation or torture involved in the rescue, but that person risked his life for me and I would be forever grateful. For the rest of my life, I would feel a special bond with this person. There's a special closeness between two people after an experience like that - different from any other kind of relationship.

I gave a lot of thought to that and wondered why my feelings of gratitude aren't deeper, and why my bond with Christ isn't stronger than what it is. Why don't I feel the same overwhelming feelings of gratitude and appreciation in my life every day, as one whose life has been saved? In my head, I know what He did for me, and I do appreciate it, but the deep, heartwrenching, soul-cleansing attitude of gratitude is missing., or at the very least, insufficient! The daily thoughts of who I owe my life to aren't there as they should be. I definitely need a stronger attitude of gratitude toward my Savior!

Friends, let us not forget that we are not here because of our own merits or accomplishments. We are not here because we are self-sustaining and independent. We are here because God wakes us very morning and blesses us with a new day - a clean slate - and because of that we should be much more aware and appreciative of where our  gift of life comes from. We have been rescued and blessed with many gifts that make our life more pleasant. Every day is a new beginning. It's a new chance to draw closer to our Rescuer and Savior!

Every day is a blessing, and for that we must always have an attitude of gratitude!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17