I glanced up at the clock as tiny shards of light fell
across the table. It was dawn - almost time to get ready for the busy day ahead
of me, and I had been up most of the night. I could feel the strain in my back,
neck and shoulders. I needed to get up and stretch, to get moving, but I knew
how important it was to finish this project, so I kept going. Almost done, I
told myself. Love lightens the load.
Later, as I sat wearily on my bed, stealing a few minutes
before the craziness of another day crashed in on me, not only did my body ache,
but my spirit did too.
I felt low. Unappreciated.
I felt low. Unappreciated.
Have you ever felt that way? You worked hard, gave
sacrificially of your time and effort, and even though you didn’t do it for
thanks, your spirit sank just a little when no one seemed to notice.
I sat there thinking… I wonder if he knows… if he understands
the sacrifice it was. Yes, he had hurriedly mouthed thanks,
but his obligatory word did little to convince me that he really
appreciated my help. Sullenly, I mused, ‘Why can’t he be more thankful?’
(Isn't it funny how we accuse others of the very sins we are guilty of? There I was accusing my gracious and kind husband, while I was the one guilty of thanklessness.)
(Isn't it funny how we accuse others of the very sins we are guilty of? There I was accusing my gracious and kind husband, while I was the one guilty of thanklessness.)
And then it started. From somewhere deep inside me… a slight flutter ...unrecognizable at first… but the stirrings grew, until a barely audible whisper
escaped my mouth, ‘Thank you, Lord! Thank you for the opportunity to be of help
to my husband. I am so blessed to be able to serve him in this way.’
The cure was instantaneous. It was as if I had swallowed a magic pill. Gone was the
sullen, discontented spirit; in its place was an overwhelming feeling of
gratitude and peace.
As I went about my day with a new spring in my step, I chuckled about how I had stumbled upon the cure. Always there, right within my grasp, mine for the choosing - the cure for a disgruntled and sullen spirit. The choice to give thanks.
As I hummed the
As I hummed the
'And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.' Colossians 3:17
'Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.' 1 Thessalonians 5:18
It's not that I'm not thankful, generally speaking. As a glass half full kind of person, in the big issues of life, I customarily choose to focus on something to be thankful for, rather than ruminating on all that's wrong.
But often, in the nitty gritty of the everyday, I forget to put on my thankful lens. Sometimes, I end up grumbling and complaining about the very things I ought to be thankful for. (Ever happens to you? How absurd, right?)
Just like that, I slip and slide right out of God's will for my life.
I don't know about you, but that is not a place I want to be. I want to be right up there under His wings, abiding in His presence, 'striving with all His energy working powerfully within me'.
The fact that this is even possible - that the Creator of heaven and earth has chosen me and 'rides across the heavens to help [me]' accomplish the good works He has prepared in advance for me to do - bowls me over and floods my spirit with thankfulness.
And when I choose to live thankful, I am blessed. Happy. Blissful. With a deep, internal happiness regardless of what is happening externally. A happiness not reliant on temporal things, like the praise of others or an expected 'thanks' that feeds my flesh, but wholly dependent on my relationship with God, my father.
Yes, when I choose to remember the privileges I have in Him, and how grateful I am to be working in His kingdom, my life overflows with thanksgiving, and a disgruntled or discontented spirit has no chance to take root.
Moment by moment I get to choose. Thankful or fretful? I get to choose to remain in the center of God's will for my life and in doing so open the floodgates for God's blessings to pour down.
How's that for a cure for a sulky spirit?
Yes, when I choose to remember the privileges I have in Him, and how grateful I am to be working in His kingdom, my life overflows with thanksgiving, and a disgruntled or discontented spirit has no chance to take root.
Moment by moment I get to choose. Thankful or fretful? I get to choose to remain in the center of God's will for my life and in doing so open the floodgates for God's blessings to pour down.
How's that for a cure for a sulky spirit?
What about you?
Have you fallen into the trap? Are you looking for thanks in all the wrong places or are you eagerly cultivating a harvest of thanksgiving in your own life?
Remember the choice is yours.
What do you choose to be thankful for right now?
Why don't you take a moment and list them all out? It might surprise you just how happy it'll make you.
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I'm grateful this post was
