Thankfulness: Have A Grateful Heart

God desires for His children to be grateful. There is always much to be thankful for, Amen? Unfortunately, we often fall into the pattern of whining and complaining in lieu of appreciating all that His generous hand has allowed. To be sure, every good and perfect gift is from above. Also, when we start to grasp how far down, He had to reach to pull us out of our pits we become overwhelmed with thankfulness. A grateful heart is becoming to a child of the King. That is to be our appropriate response even though we may not always fully appreciate the “gift” He has allowed.
It is certainly easy to kick against things that are not of our choosing. This is often why we are so prone towards grumbling and complaining, fearful and fretful, worrying over the minutia as well as the mountain before us. We can easily forget that His Word tells us every circumstance He allows in the lives of His heirs of mercy is for their good and His glory never one surpassing the other. The is the promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The “thing” itself may not be “good” but what it brings about will be for our good. And we can count on that as we trust in Him.
Thankfulness also turns our worries into a peace that passes understanding, transforming our fears into courage as well as our chaos into order. Taking our eyes off our problems and placing them on our problem Solver is a way to renew a thankful heart. Also, there is always something that we can be thankful for even in the midst of the most horrific days, His mercies being new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. We may not always understand the “why” of our circumstances, but we definitely know the Who, and He is, Who He is, all the time.
Gratefulness is not to be merely a tip of the hat, an add on nicety, rather it is to be a way of life. Christians are to be the most grateful people. He has saved our scrawny necks from sin, self and Satan as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are God’s vessels, created for His glory and for our good. All He allows in the life of every heir of His great mercy is for their good and is pregnant with purpose - even the most trying and difficult of times. We can rest secure in the One Who shields us all day long as there remains nothing that is left to chance or circumstance. He will give us the grace sufficient to meet each need every day. May we all live grateful for His grace embracing the promised gift of His daily mercies.