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Attitude Of Gratitude: Do You Really Have This?
by Robert Baines An attitude of gratitude is a reference to having a mindset that appreciates that God is working all things out for the good of His people (see Rom. 8:28). This attitude is not grateful for all that happens. But it appreciates that God is working out a blessed plan for His people. The central idea of this series of devotionals, "Praise God Anyhow," based on II Samuel 6:12-16, 20-23, is we should be mindful of praise, despisement, and determination. In this devotional, let's focus on determination. Make sure with your determination to praise God that you are also determined to praise God with you very life. John 14:15 teaches that if we really love Jesus then we ought to keep His commandments. We ought to strive to live every moment as a "praise the Lord." We ought to work on our job with an attitude of gratitude. We ought to work like we know that God has blessed us to have a job. I know this can be hard sometimes (smile). With an attitude of thankfulness, we ought to take the fruit of our labors and live within our means and invest for retirement, as if God is looking over our stewardship. We ought to live in our relationships with an attitude of praise. We ought to love our family, friends, and neighbors, as those whom God has allowed to be on our path. We ought to live in our communities with attitudes of praise. Notice that David did not only give offerings to the Lord, but he gave food and drink to the people. He blessed the people. We ought to help the less fortunate and help prevent people from being less fortunate, as our way of showing that our praise and dancing is deeper than emotional Sunday exercise. Self Examination How are you doing with having an attitude of gratitude? What are you going to do to improve in this area? Prayer God I praise You for being such a great and awesome God. You are the creator, sustainer, and hope of all creation. Thank You for showering seen and unseen blessings into the lives of my loved ones and into my life. Thank You for being much better to us than we deserve. I confess my many sins to You, including my failing to be grateful. Please forgive me and help me to grow in this area. Bless my loved ones and me to be what You are calling us to be. Have Your way in our lives, because Your way is best for us. Thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen. Dr. Robert E. Baines, Jr. uses his doctorate of ministry degree and twenty years of pastoral experience to provide quality and helpful Christian living information to 1,000's of visitors a month. Make sure you secure your free copy of his ebooklet, "How to Encourage Yourself: 21 Practical Tips," and sign up for his newsletter that features great articles, helpful devotionals, and Bible based teaching notes at www.RobertBaines.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |