Developing an Attitude of Gratitude
By Noelle Dey
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 118:1 NLT
Cleaning the house is thankless job.
I mean that literally. It’s a rare occasion when someone notices and thanks me for a clean toilet.
And so the internal battle begins.
When I have my morning quiet times, I feel empowered by the Holy Spirit. I confidently pray,
Lord, whatever I do, I will work at it with all my heart knowing I’m working for You rather than for people. Colossians 3:23 NLT
And I hold to my word.
Until…
The humans in my household walk through the front door.
I wait.
I usually give them a good three minutes before I’m ready to pounce when they fail to gush over the work I did for their benefit.
But then I consider Jesus and the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19).
As Jesus entered a village between Galilee and Samaria, ten lepers cried out to Him and begged for healing. Full of mercy, Jesus got eye contact with them and told them to show themselves to the priests. As they walked away, their leprosy left them. One of those lepers went back to Jesus. He was filled with immense gratitude. He joyfully shouted his praises and glory to God.
Only one of the ten came back to thank Jesus.
These lepers had been cast out from all social interaction. They were repulsive, hopeless and lonely. And now, immeasurable blessings were pouring down. Where did they go? Maybe they went to celebrate with their families. Maybe they jumped right in to live life to its fullest. I’m convinced that the other nine were just as ecstatic, but forgot to thank Jesus.
And then I consider my own story. I’m guessing God gave me this story to show me that it’s easy to miss nine out of every ten blessings.
I am determined to grow in thankfulness and become the one who remembers to pause and joyfully express my gratitude to Jesus and others.
After reading Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, I created a gratitude journal (which is actually an Excel document since I can’t stand my handwriting). I realized if I just listed five things per day, it would only take a half of a year to compile a list of 1,000 gifts God has given me. This is one of the best habits I’ve ever created.
If you love to write, devote a notebook or a journal to gratitude. Commit to listing at least five things per day starting today.
But if your handwriting is more like mine, create a document and number your blessings.
Praise God and thank Him for each of those gifts!
Dear Heavenly Father, it’s easy to point our fingers at others when they forget to thank us. But You show us that it’s also very possible we are forgetting to thank You and others for the blessings in our own lives. Help us to follow in the footsteps of the one leper who remembered to come back and thank Jesus. We want to grow in our attitude of gratitude. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen!
For more encouragement, check out Noelle’s book Transformation by Truth: 30 days to a healthy heart, mind and body.
© 2020 by Noelle Dey. All rights reserved.
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