The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (20 page)

I firmly believe that when we have problems, we should not worry, but we also need to continue doing the things we know to do. For example, if you have commitments, be sure to keep them. Quite often when people are encountering personal problems, they withdraw from normal life and spend all their time trying to solve the problem. All this unproductive activity prevents them from doing what they should be doing, which is “doing good.”

Psalm 37:3 says that we should trust in the Lord and
do good
and we will feed on His faithfulness. The faithfulness of God is something we can all be thankful for! I have discovered that if I continue my study of God’s Word, continue praying, keep my commitments, and help as many people as I can, I experience breakthrough much faster. Helping others while we are hurting is actually a very powerful thing to do.

I thank You today, Father, that I am not subject to my problems. When I am going through something, I can respond by helping others around me. I am grateful that with Your help, I can do good for others; I can make a difference in this world.

Thanksgiving can be a part of who we are deep down in our hearts; it is a type of prayer and it should flow out of us in a natural way that is simple and genuine.

Being thankful does not mean merely sitting down at the end of a day, trying to remember everything we need to be thankful for because we think we have to thank God in order to make Him happy, or to satisfy some spiritual requirement, or try to get Him to do something else for us.

Instead, it means having a heart that is sensitive to God’s presence in our everyday lives, and just breathing out grateful prayers of thanksgiving every time we see Him working in our lives or blessing us.

Father, I am thankful that prayer is not some ritual or formula that I am required to follow. I am grateful that prayer is a comfortable, ongoing conversation with You based on an intimate relationship with You. I love You, Father, and I am excited to give You thanks all day long.

Receiving is important in our relationship with God. When we receive from God, we actually take into ourselves what He is offering. As we receive His love, we then have love in us. Once we are filled with God’s love, we can begin loving ourselves. We begin giving that love back to God and loving other people.

The Bible teaches us that the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That simply means that when the Lord comes to dwell in our hearts because of our faith in His Son Jesus Christ, He brings love with Him, because God is love (see 1 John 4:8).

We all need to ask ourselves what we are doing with the love of God that has been freely given to us. Are we rejecting it because we don’t think we are valuable enough to be loved? Or are we receiving His love with a thankful heart, believing that He is greater than our failures and weaknesses?

I am grateful, Father, that You love me and that Your love is perfect and unconditional. Help me learn to receive Your love by faith and go through each day knowing that I am valuable because I am loved by my heavenly Father.

Focusing on our problems will prevent us from rejoicing and being glad. Look for the good in your life and your joy will increase. You might have a problem, but if you focus on what’s good, then you will discover there are some good things in your life also. The world is full of people and situations that don’t please us, so if we are waiting for perfect circumstances to make us happy, we will be waiting forever.

That’s why we must learn to base our happiness and joy not on outward circumstances, but on the Lord’s presence inside us. Thankfully, we can learn not to fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in everything to give thanks and praise to God. Then the peace that passes all understanding will be ours.

Father, thank You for the gifts of joy and contentment. Regardless of the circumstances around me, I choose to praise You and realize that You are the true source of my joy. Thank You for Your goodness in my life. I choose to put my hope in You.

The presence of God in our lives helps us overcome fear. If we know by faith that God is with us, we can be grateful for His presence and we can take on any challenge with confidence and courage. We may not always feel God’s presence, but we can be thankful for His Word, remembering that He said He would never leave us or forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5).

In the Bible, the basis for not fearing is simply this: God is with us. And if we know God’s character and nature, we know He is trustworthy. We do not have to know what He is going to do, when He is going to do it, or how He is going to do it. Simply knowing He is with us is more than enough.

Father, I am grateful that You have promised Your presence will never leave me. Thank You that no matter what things look like around me, I don’t have to fear because You are with me and You will carry me through.