Have an Attitude of Gratitude
Do you have an attitude of Gratitude? Sometimes being thank-
ful feels like it is costing us instead of blessing us. I mean,
why should we give thanks? Our world is really crazy and so
chaotic. What is there to be thankful for?
Questions like this make us wonder, doesn’t it? Not many peo-
ple are thinking about giving thanks to God and I admit that I
was just like them a few years ago. I used to wake up every
day consumed with negative thoughts. My mind was pessimis-
tic before my feet hit the floor. I found myself complaining
and unhappy pretty much all the time. It took me a while, but I
was hooked when I realized that being thankful lifted my heart
and mind. It made a massive difference in my disposition to-
ward life. After learning to be grateful every day, everything
changed for me.

Do you remember the Bible story of the ten leopards healed by
Jesus? He told them to see the priest, and on the way, they
were cleansed. There were nine Jews and one Samaritan. But
only the Samaritan returned to say thank you to Jesus for heal-
ing him. It says in Luke 17:17-19, the King James Ver-
sion, And Jesus answered, “Were there not ten cleansed? But
where are the nine? They
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this
stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith
hath made thee whole. The Samaritan was made whole. He
was healed physically and spiritually, while the others were
just healed physically. This is what happens to us when we
give thanks to God for all He does for us. Big or small, we
need to remember to have a heart of Thanksgiving for the les-
sons we go through, the good and hard times, because without
those times, we wouldn’t depend on God, but when we give
thanks, He showers us with His love.

It says in Thessalonians 5:18, Give thanks in all circumstanc-
es; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I know it
is tough to find the positive when bad things come to us, and it
is even easy to forget to be thankful after something good hap-
pens. We forget who helped us, but when we give thanks, we
find God’s grace pouring from our hearts by putting God first.

As we look at the word Gratitude, it is in the Bible 157 times,
and the word Thanksgiving is in it 102 times. What’s more
important is how they are used. Like in this Scripture: 2 Corin-
thians 4:15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is
reaching more and more people may cause Thanksgiving to
overflow to the glory of God. Is it possible that we could live
in a world with so much Thanksgiving in its heart that we see
it overflow? I know I want to see that.
Maybe we should try saying at least ten things you are grateful
for daily. You can say something like, thank you, God, that I
have breath in my lungs, that I got up this morning, and that I
have you, Lord, in my life. I mean, those are beautiful things
to be thankful for. Let alone pray prayers of Gratitude for
something that hasn’t even happened yet.

Finding time to praise God will change your life. He is the
Amazing One and the one we should thank for everything. So
take time every day to have an attitude of Gratitude and see
how He touches your life.

~~Barb Novad