Gratitude!

What a wonderful opportunity we have to praise our God. No matter what the circumstances we find ourselves in, there is a remedy – Praise the Lord!

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. * * * Colossians 3:15 (MSG)

I love the above passage. Eugene Peterson has such a way of bringing the truth to light. When we recognize the value of living a life of gratitude, it can’t help but extend to those around us. We seek out opportunities to not only enrich our lives, but also the lives of others. We’re infused with strength as we lift up our eyes and our hearts to the God of our salvation. We’re encouraged when we recognize how God is intricately shaping our lives, every detail of our lives into a beautiful tapestry of harmony and love. When we think of how things that we thought were impossible, took form, then grew into a masterpiece of God’s grace and glory, it can’t help but lift you.

We can’t help but thank Him when we consider we are living in houses we didn’t build, eating food we didn’t plant, working jobs that we did not create. Even the least fortune among us still live in a land that flows with milk and honey.

Yet the greatest gift is to bask in the knowledge that you are no longer a prisoner to satan and his evil works. That you have been set free by the blood of the lamb to live a life of love. And love constrains you to forgive, to walk with humility, to serve your fellow man with grace.

The Thanksgiving holiday for the believer is not a set apart day to give thanks; rather it is just another melody in the love song of a grateful heart.

Maria