Do you sometimes feel like your problems are dragging you down and you don’t sense God’s presence? Are there times when you feel unhappy and unfulfilled despite your walk with God?
One thing I’ve learned so far is that an attitude of gratitude can be the key to God’s presence and his blessings. It is not the solution for everything, but a good way to start.
Why should we give thanks in a season where things don’t unfold as planned? Psalm 107,1 gives us the answer:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.”
His love never fails! No matter what your circumstances are, look to God. He is king and the one in charge. Stop looking at your problems and start focusing on him for he is good.
Ungratefulness is an attitude turned to ourselves. It is the root of bitterness, jealousy, self-pity, complaining and depression. But gratefulness perceives a joyful heart and a mind that is more aligned with God’s heart and his word.
When you give thanks to the Lord in prayer, wonderful things happen. Your focus shifts from your problems, worries and sorrows to God. Your eyes start to see his goodness and mercy in your life. The things that you already have start to become more valuable to you. And you will see things that you encountered as problems suddenly fade away. In his presence you will see clearly and that means you will perceive Gods way.
A good time to develop an attitude of thankfulness is before your prayer time. Let’s look at what the author writes in Psalm 100,4-5:
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures for ever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Here are some simple tips to apply thankfulness to your life that have helped me a lot in my walk with the Lord:
- Open your bible and read about God’s goodness. Thank him for sending his son so that we have healing, redemption, freedom and restoration. With Jesus as Lord, God’s kingdom comes! Hallelujah! Search for the good things God did for his people and promises he has written to you in his word.
- Think about the people in your life. The ones who are a blessing and uplifting you. The ones you have around you. Start seeing them as the valuable people who God loves. Your friends, spouse, children, parents, etc. Remember all the positive attributes about them.
- Look around you in your room, house or wherever you’re reading this blog post. What do you already have to be thankful for? Start with small things that may seem meaningless to you. Like access to the Internet, enough food, a bed to sleep in, etc. Thank him for the material things you have. See them as blessings that enrich your life.
- Thank God for things to come. I know this takes faith, but faith is the substance our walk with God is built on, isn’t it? Let’s say you are sick; start thanking the Lord for the parts of your body which are healthy. Now start praying for the sick parts to be healed. Thank God in advance for healing this issue. The same goes with troubles and worries. Thank him that you will overcome those problems no matter what and that you will get out stronger from this experience than before. In every difficult situation, there are things you can learn and grow from!
By doing these things, your focus will shift away from your problems and onto God’s power and strength.
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