Gratitude

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

One of the most common ways to experience spiritual warfare is in the mind. The enemy is constantly hurling lies at us and trying to get us to agree with him on all the discouraging and destructive things that he says.

But the enemy isn’t really all that creative so the best he can do is figure out which lies hurt us the most and try to torment us with those over and over again. Those lies only have power when we choose to agree with them, when we give them credibility. But when our thoughts are aligned with God’s word, the enemy’s lies lose their power as they bump up against God’s truth.

We need to check our thoughts against the truth of God’s word; are they true, noble, lovely and praiseworthy? What about those times when our lives are like a storm? When things are in chaos and swirling out of control all around us? At those times, it is so easy to focus on our troubles, our weaknesses and tragedies. I know I have done this more than I would like to admit. When I do that, two things can happen. First, when I focus on the negative, I can’t focus on the truth. The truth that Jesus has already overcome every trial, loss and struggle with which I am struggling with. And the second thing is, I get stuck. Not only am I not looking for a way to move forward, but my capacity to interpret the world around me becomes so compromised that I choose to do nothing and would rather wait to be rescued. For someone else to do the work.

So, what’s the solution? We need to shift our perspective. Instead of looking at our difficulties as burdens trying to take us out, we look at them as ways to dig deeper into our faith. The ‘stuff’ shouldn’t be our main focus, but God’s promises should be. It’s the positives in our lives, not the
negatives that should be the lens with which we view the world. The Bible says we are to give thanks in ALL circumstances, not just when things are good but even when things are not so good. I know this isn’t always so easy to do….

Having an attitude of gratitude has been a game changer for me. I was stuck for so long in what I had lost, on how hard things were and what I didn’t have anymore, that I found I was stuck and I just sat there waiting to be rescued. Waiting for my circumstances to change, for someone to fix everything. Just waiting…stuck…

But God showed me through the support of my sponsor and accountability partners that in the midst of everything, if I opened my eyes and really looked, I had so much to be thankful for. So, day by day, I make sure I look around and CONCIOUSLY choose to see the blessings God has given me. This week, I encourage you to focus your prayers on gratitude in four areas of your life:

• Be thankful to God
• Be thankful for others
• Be thankful for your recovery
• Be thankful for your church

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