The Power of Being Thankful: 365 Devotions for Discovering the Strength of Gratitude (70 page)

To help you achieve and maintain a new level of contentment in your life, I encourage you to make a list of everything you have to be thankful for. Make it a long list, one that includes little things as well as big things. It should be long, because we all have
a lot
to be thankful for if we just look for it. I find new things daily to thank God for, and I am sure you will too.

Get out a piece of paper right now, or use your computer and start listing things you have to be thankful for. Keep the list and add to it frequently. Make it a point to think about the things that you’re grateful for when you’re driving the kids to an activity or waiting in line at the store. You can only learn the “power of thank you” by practicing it. The Bible says we are to be thankful and say so. Meditating on what you have to be thankful for every day and verbalizing it will be amazingly helpful to you.

Father, I thank You for the many provisions in my life You have blessed me with. I have so much to be grateful for because of Your overwhelming goodness. Help me never take any good thing—large or small—for granted.

There are four keys to success in any endeavor you undertake. If these character traits and habits become part of the routine of your life, they’ll enable you to move toward the success you long for.

Examine your own life and ask yourself if you need to improve in any of these areas and be thankful that you don’t have to do these things on your own. God is with you and, as you seek Him, He will give you the commitment, determination, the ability to wait on Him, and the renewal you need to succeed.

Father, when I am faced with a situation where success seems impossible, help me to remember to look to You for strength. I thank You that You will empower me to do what it takes to live a life of excellence.

Self-doubt makes us double-minded, and James 1:8 teaches us that a double-minded man is unstable. He really cannot go forward until he decides to believe in God and trust God’s plan for his life.

I encourage you to take a big step of faith and stop doubting yourself. As the old saying goes, “Don’t sell yourself short.” You have more capabilities than you think you do. You are able to do a lot more than you ever did in the past. God will help you if you will put your trust in Him and stop doubting yourself.

Like everyone else, you will make mistakes. But thankfully, God will allow you to learn from them and will actually work them out for your good if you will decide not to be defeated by them. When doubt begins to torment your mind, start speaking the Word of God out of your mouth—you will win the battle.

Father, I am so thankful that You can take even my mistakes and turn them into something good. I pray that You will help me put doubt aside and trust You completely. Thank You that in Christ I have everything I need; I never have to doubt again.

I hope you have a dream or a vision in your heart for something greater than what you have now. Ephesians 3:20 (KJV) tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we can hope or ask or think. If we are not thinking, hoping, or asking for anything, we are cheating ourselves.

We need to be thankful for the things God has done in the past, but still have the faith to think big thoughts, hope for big things, and ask for big things for the future. I always say, “I would rather ask God for a lot and get half of it than ask Him for a little and get all of it.”

I thank You today, Father, that You want me to dream big for You. Help me to refuse to place limits on my life. I believe You have great things for me, and I thank You that You do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all I could hope or ask or think.

Dreams for the future are possibilities, but not what I call “positivelies.” In other words, they are possible, but they will not positively occur unless we do our part.

Far too many people take the “quick fix” method for everything. They only want what makes them feel good right now. They are not willing to invest for the future. But you can be different! If you are willing to pursue what God has placed in your heart, He will bless your pursuit. You can be thankful, knowing that when you do what God asks you to do, He will always do what only He can do.

There is a gold mine hidden in every life, but we have to dig to get to it. Be willing to dig deeper and go beyond how you feel or what is convenient in order to see your dreams come true.

I am grateful, Father, that with diligence and You at my side, my possibilities can turn into “positivelies.” No matter how much work it requires, I am going to go after what You have placed in my heart. Thank You that when I do my part, You promise to do Your part too.