Let's Be Grateful

Gratefulness. Why is that mind set so hard for us at times?

Recently, I believe that I got it right…….

Just the other day I was at the store and I started for the checkout line with a few items in tow. The “10 items or less” line didn’t appear to be a fast option, so I proceeded to get in one of the “regular lines”. Even though I noticed that the shopping cart in front of me had a lot of items, I decided I wasn’t going to try to find a “shorter line; I would stick it out.
Well, much to my surprise the lady in front of me noticed that I had only a few items, so she graciously said (and I paraphrase), “Come on in front of me, since you don’t have that much”. Wow! What an act of kindness! I immediately thanked her when she initially made the kind gesture, and actually thanked her several more times before I grabbed my bags and left the store. As I walked to my car, I thought that I had responded with real gratitude for such a kind act.

I went over and above to make sure that the kind stranger saw my thankful heart. Yet how often do I go over and above to be constantly thankful to my Heavenly Father for all that He has done?
A verse that I find myself meditating on from time to time reminds me of why I should be abundantly grateful. Colossians 2:6-7 says: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (New American Standard Bible)

From these verses, here’s what I see:

I believe that true gratefulness begins with a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ we are made new from the inside out. He has taken away that old nature and given us a new nature that is no longer controlled by sin. In Him, we are set free from sin’s power, and now we are capable of living a life that pleases Him. We can, by His Spirit, continue to “walk in Him” …Thank you Lord!

True gratefulness can manifest itself when we know we are “firmly rooted” in Christ. Our identity in Him and our security in Him are indisputable realities! We are in His grip for all eternity…Thank you Father!

The Lord gives us the desire to be established in our faith by reading, studying, meditating on and memorizing His Word. Growing in Christ just doesn’t happen. By Christ’s Spirit, we can be instructed to serve and honor our Savior, not by compulsion or coercion, but because we love Him….Thank you Jesus!

Our natural response for all that the Lord has done should indeed be gratitude! Why not take a moment, or several moments, to reflect on the goodness of the Lord. I’ve come to realize that even in the midst of my trials and my “bad days”, my Savior loves me and in Him there is glorious hope!

Thanksgiving Day comes once a year, but being grateful can be on our agenda every day of the year! Just as I offered many thanks to the compassionate woman in the store, even more so should I offer up to the Lord continuous words of gratitude and praise, for HE IS WORTHY!!!

Let’s be grateful and Happy Thanksgiving!