The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (6 page)

One day I woke up with a throbbing headache. I walked around with that miserable headache almost all day, telling everybody I met about how terrible I felt—until I finally realized that I had complained most of the day and had never taken the time to simply pray and ask God to take the pain away.

Unfortunately, that response is rather typical for some of us. We complain about our problems and spend a majority of our time trying to figure out what we can do to solve them. We often do everything except the one thing we are told to do in the Word of God: ask, that we may receive and our joy may be full (see John 16:24 KJV).

Thankfully, God wants to provide for our every need. We have the awesome privilege of “asking and receiving,” and we should always pray as a first response to every situation.

I thank You, God, in everything, no matter what the circumstance may be. I desire to be the most thankful person I can be, and I ask You to help me reach my goal.

Take a step of faith and no matter how you feel, agree with God that He loves you. You are wonderfully made and have many talents and strengths. You are valuable, and as a believer in Jesus, you are the righteousness of God in Him. You have rightness before God instead of wrongness—be thankful for that amazing gift!

Begin to speak out against feelings of insecurity and say, “I belong to God and He loves me!” (see Ephesians 2:10). We believe more of what we hear ourselves say than what others say, so start saying something good and drown out the other voices that condemn you.

Fight for yourself! Fight the good fight of faith and refuse to live below the level at which Jesus wants you to live. His kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy (see Romans 14:17). Don’t settle for anything less.

I thank You, Father, that I can boldly declare in faith who I am in Christ. Thank You that You created me as one of a kind and You love me dearly. Today, I choose to believe that I am Your workmanship.

Indecision wastes a lot of time, and time is too precious to waste. If you’ll become a confident, decisive person, you’ll accomplish a lot more with less effort.

No one learns how to hear from God without making mistakes. Don’t be overly concerned about errors. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You are a fallible, imperfect human being, but you can rejoice with thanksgiving because you serve an infallible, perfect God.

Learn from your mistakes, correct the ones you can, and trust God for His guidance and protection. If you feel that God is prompting you to give something away, help someone out, or make a change in your life, do it! Take some action and sow seeds of obedience. When you feel you have guidance from God, move in faith instead of stagnating in doubt and fear.

Father, I am thankful that I can trust You to help me learn from my mistakes. I don’t have to worry or be afraid that I’ll make the wrong decision, because I know You are with me. Thank You that You will lead and guide me—even through my mistakes.

I think that many times we let what should be extremely special to us—things we should be extremely grateful for—become too commonplace. Several years ago, I was “prayer murmuring” to the Lord (praying but kind of murmuring at the same time), and I said, “Lord, why don’t I have those exciting, special things happen in my life like I used to when I first started to know You?”

And I’ll never forget what the Lord spoke to my heart so clearly. He said, “Joyce, I still do the same things all the time, it’s just that you’ve gotten used to it.”
Ouch!

I believe that if we’ll stay amazed at the things God is doing in our lives—even the little things—we’ll never be without hope. I encourage you to realize what you have, be thankful, and decide to live amazed… jaw-dropping, wide-eyed, “Wow! That was God!” amazed.

I am grateful that You are always doing special things in my life, Lord, and I pray that I will recognize them and be generous in my praise and gratitude. Help me live amazed.

The best way to be safe during a natural storm is to take cover. If you do not seek shelter, the storm may harm you.

The Word of God gives us instructions on how to take cover when we face the spiritual storms of life. The first place you need to run when a storm hits in your life is to the secret place of the Most High, the presence of God. Meditate on His Word; pray; worship Him; thank Him and tell Him you trust Him as the winds of adversity blow. These are the spiritual disciplines no foe can withstand. When you practice these habits, you actually construct spiritual walls of protection around yourself. These walls will provide protection and enable you to stand strong in the midst of any storm.

Lord, I thank You that You are my shelter in the storm. When life’s difficulties come my way, I don’t have to be afraid because You are with me. I trust that You will calm the storms in my life and bring me safely through them. Thank You that You’ll never leave me nor forsake me (see Hebrews 13:5).