Today's Word

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How often do we show out gratitude to the Lord. Giving thanks or showing gratitude to God, is an act of recognizing His goodness, love, and faithfulness, which can be done through prayer, song, and daily reflection. Ways include thanking Him in all circumstances, starting the day with gratitude for His blessings, and acknowledging Him as the source of all good things. 

Gratitude impacts every area of our lives, by giving us the command to always give thanks, God is not rubbing salt in a wound or calling us to set aside reason. He knows that being thankful in all circumstances has a powerful impact on every area of our Christian life. 

Gratitude keeps us continually aware that the Lord is close by. Even though gratefulness doesn’t come naturally in difficult circumstances, a decision to thank God for walking with us through life makes us more sensitive to His comforting presence. It motivates us to look for His purpose in our circumstance. 

Knowing that the Lord allows hurt and trouble for His good purposes takes the edge off the pain. Even if we don’t understand why we’re going through suffering, we can thank God because we know that in His time, He’ll work it all for good. 

In the meantime, we can rest in the knowledge that He’s using every hardship to transform us into the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-29).

Thanksgiving helps bring our will into submission to God. When the situation we’re experiencing is the last thing we’d ever want, thanking the Lord is a giant step toward being able to follow Christ’s example and say, “Not my will, but Yours be done”. 

Gratitude helps us acknowledge that God’s will is best, even if it’s hard; in that way, we are able to release our hold on what we want. Although the circumstances may remain the same, submission changes our heart. It reminds us of our continual dependence upon the Lord. 

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church 

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