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Grateful—such a beautiful word.
A grateful heart turns a half-empty glass into a cup that’s overflowing. Counting our blessings is a surefire way of changing our outlook and disposition. It's extremely hard to grumble while reflecting on God's goodness towards us. Gratitude brings contentment, peace, and unshakable joy.
Here is a short devotion from my book “Worship and Wonder: Faith-Filled Devotions”:
Blessed
God pours out continual blessings on those He loves. He withholds no good thing from those who love Him in return. A relationship with Jesus will never leave us lacking. Insurmountable amounts of joy, hope, peace, and love are always at our disposal. He has blessed us with everything we could possibly need for living out our faith while we dwell here on earth. He blesses us with strength for the times we need to persevere. He blesses us with courage when our circumstances would otherwise demand we succumb to fear. He blesses us with faith to move mountains and overcome obstacles that are in our way; He blesses us with His wisdom for traversing this world, and discernment in choosing our best path forward. God blesses us with a knowledge of His will, and an awareness of His Presence with us. He blesses us with His Holy Word, as written in the Bible, and with His very own Holy Spirit to reside in our hearts. God has indeed blessed us abundantly with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms that we could possibly dream of.
Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Here’s an additional bit of inspiration from my book, “Promise and Possibilities: Hope-Filled Devotions”:
Out of Gratitude
We worship, surrender, and seek God not for what we want Him to do, but because of what He’s already done. We bow our knees and lift our hearts before Him out of gratitude for His gift of salvation and eternal life, and every blessing He’s poured out.
Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”
Besides the amazing blessing of our salvation and the promise of eternity in Heaven, the Lord pours out countless other blessings that impact us here and now—His good and sovereign guidance, the fullness of His joy, and pleasure in His Presence.
Take a moment to offer your gratitude to the Lord. Then notice how you attitude changes.
