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This One Thing Raises Us Up!
Author : Sonia Taylor
This one thing can immediately connect us with God and see God ' s Holy Spirit working in our life. It lifts us out of sadness, helps us accept what is happening in our life and adjust our mind to positive thinking with almost no effort at all. Helps us to give to our God what is His and honour Him in everything we do.
What is this wonderful phenomenon I am talking about? It is GRATITUDE! It is God ' s will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God...”
God commands us to be thankful, Psalms 50:14 Psalms 97:12; 100:4; 105:1; 106:1; 107:1; 136:1-3, 26. Ephesians 5:3, 4, 19, 20. Colossians 1:12; 2:6, 7; 3:16, 17; 4:2 Colossians 3:15 ; Philippians 4:6 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:1.
Gratitude is simply being thankful for something, no matter what is happening in your life. "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God ..." (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Ephesians 5:20 (cp. Ephesians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:2) Giving thanks always for all things unto God... Philippians 4:6 ... in everything ... Philippians 4:11 ... for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God ...2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:13
Did you ever notice how feeling gratitude for even the most seemingly insignificant thing can arouse a state of joy? It is so effortless, and yet so powerful! It is a mighty tool in ushering us into the Presence of God. See 2 Chronicles 5:12, 13; Psalms 95:2; Psalms 100:4; Psalms 140:1; Philippians 4:6, 7). It honours and magnifies God. Psalms 50:23; Psalms 69:30.
See Jesus, who is our example, giving thanks to God. Matthew 11:25, 26; 26:27, 28; Matthew 36; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17, 19; John 6:11, 23; 11:41
You can even express gratitude in advance for something before it manifests in your life. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ' Go, throw into the sea ' , and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says happen; it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"(Mark 11:22,23). When you pray, have faith in God! Have faith that God big enough to move your “Mountain”, and thank Him in advance.
Showing gratitude is, the very first thing in my family we were taught to do. I did the same with my daughter, but I had never realized how important is to be grateful to our God for even the smallest of blessings - until the past six years of my life when my husband got cancer and everything changed for us, hard times. Thanks God our landlord was a Christian and with his help we became Christians. Our life was back! "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with "thanksgiving", present your request to God" Philippians 4:6 and you know what? We learned to thank God and He gave us whatever we needed, no more or less, love, peace and inclusive Joy!, could you believe it? Our earthly life was falling apart. But with our trust completely in Him, we did embrace the ride with His help, He was so faithful to provide us with a smooth path and plenty of love around us that we were able to go through, we thanked Him always and still I do it. We knew all was in God ' s hands and the outcome maybe was not what we wanted at the time but He knew it was for our own good.
Gratitude to God is part of my daily routine and gives me the perspective to realize how bless, abundant and prosperous I really am. By the way my husband died four years ago, he died grateful and happy knowing where he was going. I was and I am grateful, I have what I need no more or less, and still I am receiving. I did learn to see his blessings in everything. How amazing is His love. I thank God every moment of my day.
When you are feeling grateful for something, that splendid feeling is all you can have in that moment. There is no room for any other feeling that is not positive.
But that is not the best part. The most amazing thing about expressing gratitude is that the more you do it, the more you will discover extraordinary things finding their way into your experience. Those things will become your daily miracles, no more coincidences; you will give to God what is rightfully His!
The more gratitude you express, the more things you will get! Every single time you are feeling grateful for something in your life, you are exclaiming to God, "More of this, please!" and the Lord always responds in return, with more!
The practice of gratitude is a powerful tool for recreating your life so that you regularly experience happiness, joy and contentment. Grateful thoughts align your heart, mind and soul. You are being obedient to God’s command.
Maybe you are telling yourself, what I can be grateful for? My life is a mess! Or maybe you think that you have all, and you don’t need anything. Ok let me tell you, opportunities are given to you in every moment, God doesn’t stop working in your life; He is always working in your behalf behind the scenes. Grateful for what you have, for what you experience. Beauty, love and richness exist in your life. Can you see it? Search, look, God’s blessings are everywhere!
There are gifts and opportunities in every situation. The core of gratefulness is having awareness of these opportunities inherent in life events and circumstances, and then thoughtfully choosing to response. Gratefulness is about enjoying the sights, sounds, smells and abundance all around you, appreciating all of your emotions and feelings, and celebrating the blessings of family and community.
We all have the ability to make our lives even richer and more positive, by noticing daily events, appreciating the benefits we receive, and being mindful of surprises. Remember you have the power to control whether your thoughts will be positive and focused on what is going well in your life or negative on what is not going well. You can be an example of happiness and gratefulness by expressing appreciation to people on regular basis. Let the people you care about know that you are grateful they are in your life - and why.
I am not diminishing the reality of sadness, disappointment or discouragement or the need to feel those feelings at times. What I say is by applying gratitude daily in your life it is possible to achieve peace and contentment in a demanding and sometimes disappointing world.
What I say is you can, though, INTENTIONALLY reframe painful or disappointing events as opportunities for growth and learning and DELIVERATELY see the good in those situations. You can begin right now to see the perfection and beauty in everything and everyone. It is a habit of mind!
Blessings are pouring out for you daily, God’s love is beyond coincidences; little miracles surround your day. Pay attention to your words and behaviour, if you notice are full of complaints about what is lacking in your life, stop and think, search the good, something good is in there. Remember God’s timing and ways are different to yours.
How I did remember so much good happening daily? Simple, I did create a place to list my blessings on a regular basis, a gratitude journal; I share it with my family and friends and daily thank God for the simple things happening. Each day I find more and more to be grateful for.
Now your homework is to write daily a gratitude list. You can open a blank book for you and your family, leave it in a table with a pen nearby and everyone can make entries, then before going to bed at night, glance back over your day and reflect moments of grace, abundance, joy, friendship and contentment - the things you enjoyed or felt blessed by that day. Acknowledge the things that make your life abundant and meaningful. Record the small and large gifts and moments that are enriching your life every day.
Make time to be with your family and read it loud giving thanks to God for everything. Hebrews 13:15. Acknowledge His blessings. God desires genuine gratefulness: from the heart. Psalms 54:6 Psalms 86:12;Psalms 9:1; 138:1; Luke 18:11.
After you write your list, be sure to live it. Honour The Lord always! Show your appreciation to others. Thank someone for holding the door for you. Thank your family for something that you normally wouldn’t give appreciation for (such as doing the laundry, cooking, picking up milk, driving you to work, etc). Remember plenty of little miracles surround your life! Can you see it?
Gratitude is an attitude: a personal quality that moulds us and shapes our lives - not just something we do or say. The secret of maintaining a grateful heart is contentment. Thank him daily. Psalms 68:19; Thank him no matter what happens. Philippians 4:11; 1 Timothy 6:6, 8; Hebrews 13:5.
To help you get started, here is my gratitude list for today:
Almighty father, Hallowed is your name, I bless you and I thank you for being my God. I thank you for the wonders of creation and life. I am grateful that I was able to write this article. I thank you because once again you are using my life as a testimony of your love. I am grateful because today I have food and shelter, I know soon I will have my own place again and I thank you for that. I am grateful because today I did have work. I am grateful for my daughter and my family overseas whom I love dearly and I am able to laugh with them all the time when I contact them. I thank you because I can see evidence of your work in their lives. I thank you father for friends and for my church; I thank you for their acceptance of truth and obedience to your teaching. The love and help I receive from them is amazing. I thank you because I was able to say thank you! And the most important of all, dear God I am gratefully because you love me, how I am! Thank you Father. I praise You In Jesus Name.
(c) Sonia Taylor
Sonia Taylor is the webmaster, designer and owner of Aussie1shop.com. A Christian Web Site That Seeks To Glorify The Lord Jesus Christ By Offering Tools for Christians to reach out.
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