Have you ever been in a season where all you saw around you is lack? You wished you were further along in your journey, you wished you had more money in the bank, you wished you had a better job. You simply wished SOMETHING was different because you were not satisfied with the circumstances you were in? This thought is too common for us believers, and I believe God is inviting us to put on new eyes to see what truly is around us and the reality that joy and contentment is available to us right where we are at through Christ!<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a look at what the Word says about gratitude and thanksgiving<\/p>\n
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says \u201cRejoice always, pray continually,\u00a0give thanks in all circumstances;<\/b>\u00a0for this is\u00a0God\u2019s will for you\u00a0<\/b>in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gratitude isn\u2019t just a nice idea we try to do better at during the thanksgiving holiday, it\u2019s actually\u00a0God\u2019s will\u00a0<\/b>for our lives. He sees it as an absolute essential for us! Gratitude isn\u2019t a suggestion, it\u2019s His desire and His will for us because of the fruit it will bear in our lives!<\/p>\n
I wonder what would have happened if the Israelites chose to be grateful in the wilderness rather than be full of complaints. They were so stuck in their lack that they forgot that the same God who delivered them from Egypt was STILL with them. They forgot to be thankful! They chose to focus on what they didn\u2019t have, rather than focus and remember what God did for them.<\/p>\n
As we know, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. What should have been a 2 week or less journey on foot turned into a prolonged journey of wandering fueled by unhealthy cycles of complaining and defeat. They kept forgetting WHO their God was! They took their eyes off of God and onto the reality around them. They didn\u2019t have the realization that their breakthrough lied in what they were sowing through their words and the thoughts in their heart.<\/p>\n
Sis, when you choose gratitude, it turns what is around you into enough. God is inviting you to step INTO gratitude, where it not only becomes a discipline, but it becomes a lifestyle and essentially becomes WHO you are. Despite what feels as not enough around you, I truly believe God wants to show you the everlasting peace and joy you can find in Him, because Jesus is enough!<\/p>\n
I want to remind you that God\u2019s goodness is in fact around all you. Right in this\u00a0very moment, as you\u2019re reading this, God\u2019s goodness is encompassing you. Ask Him to show you what that is. Maybe it\u2019s packaged in a way that you haven\u2019t recognized yet, but through His grace and kindness, I believe He will show you it!<\/p>\n\n\t\t