The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (44 page)

When God shows us a fault, thankfully, He does not expect us to fix it in our own strength. He only wants us to acknowledge it, to agree with Him, to be sorry for it, and be willing to turn away from it. He knows—and we need to know—that we cannot change ourselves. But He will change us if we study His Word and cooperate with His Holy Spirit.

Change of all types is worth celebrating because it is required for progress. The process may not bring joy, but later on it will produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness that God desires and that we can enjoy (see Hebrews 12:11). Give yourself permission to lighten up, and don’t be so concerned about your own perfection. Do what you can do, and let God do what you cannot do.

Father, help me to be open to Your refining work in my life. I love You and I open my heart to receive Your instruction. Have Your way in my life today. Thank You for changing me to be more like You!

Praise God for laughter—what a wonderful gift! Laughter has tremendous power, and this is something everyone would be wise to do more of. We as Christians tend to be so anxious about everything—our sins, expecting perfection from ourselves, our personal growth, and trying to meet people’s expectations. We can carry heavy burdens that Jesus never intended us to carry.

If we would just laugh a little more—
be of good cheer
, “cheer up”—we would find that a little bit of laughter makes our load much lighter. In the world we live in it is easy to find plenty to worry about, but we can choose to purposely find things to laugh about. Take every opportunity you can find to laugh and laugh and laugh!

Father, I thank You that Your joy is my strength and that laughter is a good medicine. Help me not to carry burdens that You never intended me to carry. Help me to relax and enjoy the power of laughter.

God cares about everything that concerns you, and He wants to personally take care of you. Don’t make yourself miserable worrying about things that God wants you to release to Him. When we are anxious today about what may happen tomorrow, or things that happened yesterday, we waste the day God has graciously given us.

The next time you are tempted to get anxious or upset about something—especially about something in the past or the future—think about something God has done for you lately and choose to be grateful. Learn from God’s goodness in your past and prepare for your future, but live in the present, remembering that no matter what happens, He always loves you and wants what is best for you.

Father, I am so thankful that You love me and You care about my life. Today, I choose to not let worry ruin what You have planned for me. I am going to remain grateful that You are with me and You will never leave me.

One time, I was asking God to help a friend who was going through a very difficult time. She needed something, so I asked God to provide it. To my surprise, His answer to me was, “Stop asking Me to meet the need; ask Me to show you what you can do.”

God wants us to be ready to get involved. He has blessed us with gifts, talents, and abilities. We need to not only be thankful for those things, but we need to use them to bless others.

As you go through your day, I encourage you to pray and watch for opportunities to do what you believe Jesus would do if He were still on earth in bodily form. If you are a Christian, Jesus lives in you now and you are His ambassador. Make sure you represent Him well. Be thankful for your blessings and look for ways to be a blessing to others around you.

Father, help me to see the needs of those around me. Thank You that You have blessed me in so many ways. Today I pray that You will show me ways I can share those blessings with others.

The mercy of God toward each of us is something that we can always be thankful for. Charles Spurgeon once said, “God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.”

Wow! Think about that. Can any one of us drain the sea? We might be able to drain a bathtub or a pool… but not the sea! That gives you an idea of God’s immense mercy toward us.

Although God does hate sin, and injustice makes Him angry, He is not an angry God! He is full of mercy, not holding our sins against us. We can never do so much wrong that there is no more mercy left for us. Thankfully, where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.

Father, I am thankful for Your mercy in my life. Even when You are displeased with my sin, I know that You love me and You hear my prayer. Thank You that You forgive my sins and stand ready to help me begin again.