The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (15 page)

The Song of Solomon is an allegory of the love story between God and His people. Look closely at the following Scripture: “[He exclaimed] O my love, how beautiful you are! There is no flaw in you!” (Song of Solomon 4:7).

God loves you and sees the good in you. Isn’t that wonderful? That is certainly something to be grateful for! God sees what you are becoming and will be; He is not overly concerned about your faults. He knew all of them when He invited you to be in an intimate relationship with Him.

All God wants is your love and a willingness to grow in Him. Your presence is a present to the world. You are unique and one of a kind. Do not ever forget, for even a day, how very special you are!

Father, I thank You that Your Word shows me just how much You love me. Regardless of what others may say, or even how I may feel myself, I choose to believe that I am deeply loved and wonderfully made by my heavenly Father.

A child’s faith is simple. A child doesn’t try to figure everything out and make a detailed blueprint of exactly how he will get what he needs. He simply believes because his parents said they would take care of him.

Thankfully, the same can be true for us. As believers, our joy and peace are not based in doing and achieving—trying to figure everything out and fix it ourselves. They come with believing.

Joy and peace come as a result of building our relationship with the Lord. Psalm 16:11 tells us in His presence is fullness of joy. If we have received Jesus as our Savior and Lord, He, the Prince of Peace, lives inside us (see 1 John 4:12–15; John 14:23). We experience peace in the Lord’s presence, receiving from Him and acting in response to His direction. Joy and peace come from knowing and believing—trusting in the Lord with a simple, childlike faith.

I am thankful that my joy and peace are not based on my abilities. Father, it is in You that I find everything I need. Today, I come to You with a childlike faith, trusting that You will take care of any problem in my life. Thank You, Father, that You are in control of my life, and my joy and peace are found in You.

If you have a problem, don’t merely pray for the problem to go away, or that you will get something you need or desire; pray that God will strengthen you during your waiting period. Pray that you will have the grace to wait with a thankful attitude.

The Bible teaches us that when we pray, if we believe we have received and do not doubt, our prayer request will be granted (see Mark 11:22–24). But it does not say we will immediately get what we ask for.

Because God’s timing is perfect, we can trust Him in the waiting process. I believe that the attitude we wait with partially determines how long we have to wait. An attitude of gratitude glorifies God and is a good witness of our faith to others.

Father, help me learn to wait with a thankful attitude. I thank You that You have a good plan and purpose for me, and You know exactly what I need and when I need it. So I trust in You with a grateful heart.

God wants us to use wisdom, and wisdom encourages patience. Wisdom says, “Wait a little while, until the emotions settle down, before you do or say something; then check to see if you really believe it’s the right thing to do.” Wisdom is grateful for what you already have and patiently moves into what God has for you next.

Emotions urge us toward haste, telling us that we must do something and do it right now! But godly wisdom tells us to be patient and wait until we have a clear picture of what we are to do and when we are to do it. We need to be able to step back from our situations and see them from God’s perspective. Then we can make decisions based on what we
know
rather than on what we
feel
.

I thank You, Father, that patience is a fruit of the Spirit I can demonstrate in my life. With Your help, I am determined to make decisions today with wisdom and patience. Thank You for guiding me along the way.

Often young parents delay enjoying their child until he has reached a certain stage of growth. When he is an infant they say, “I’ll be glad when he gets out of diapers (or stops cutting teeth or learns to walk).” Then they say, “I’ll be glad when he’s in kindergarten.” Then it becomes, “I’ll be glad when he is in school all day.” Later they say, “I’ll be glad when he graduates.”

On and on it goes until the child is grown and gone, and the parents have never really enjoyed any stage of his life. They were always waiting to be glad
when
. Let me encourage you: Don’t postpone being glad until everything is perfect—thank God for every single stage along the way. Learn to rejoice and be glad in the Lord, this day and every day along the way in your life.

Father, I thank You for the stage of life I am in right now. Even when I face challenges and difficulties, help me remember that You have been good to me, and help me to be grateful for today.