What Does It Take for You to Have a Heart of Gratitude?

By the time most people have reached 50 years of age, enough history has been experienced to cover the pages of a book. Making the transition can be joyful simply because children have become self-reliant – have left home for college or work and basically are supporting themselves.

However, making the transition into the next half-century can be disruptive due to unavoidable changes. Looking in the mirror portrays a mature person. Making a healthy transition depends on accepting who you have become and what you will become.

Looking back over the past, is your heart filled with gratitude for how you’ve been blessed by God and how you are a blessing to others? If not, please take the Apostle Paul’s advice “not to conform any longer to the patterns of this world but be transformed by renewing your mind.” 

Then you will please God by being in his perfect will and serving him. 

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Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

~1Thessalonians 5:16-18 New International Version

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What's Keeping You from Owning an Attitude of Gratitude?

Parents are often amused by their teenagers who cannot wait to become older to enjoy the privileges of adulthood. Yet as adults cross the line between being young and older, obsessing with aging can evolve into a crisis for those who feel life is passing them by.

However, each stage of life presents opportunities to develop and strengthen the virtue of being thankful for the things you possess. Owning a mindset of gratitude is the antidote for depression and sadness created by the losses you’ve experienced in life.

God’s desire for you is to be at peace with yourself and others as you enter each stage of adult development. Inner peace and peace with God and others is possible only as you permit yourself to have a heart of gratitude. This becomes realistic as you surrender to the help God provides and as you practice being thankful. 

         

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...Fear the Lord [with awe and profound reverence] and serve him faithfully [and thankfully] with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.

~1 Samuel 12:24 Amplified Bible

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What Reasons Do You Have for Expressing Gratitude?

The adult stages of life are as predictable as those of childhood. Young adulthood is concerned with finding a marriage partner, gaining career success, having children, and creating a home. The body naturally begins a transformation due to natural changes or neglect and abuse.

When too much emphasis is devoted to acquiring all the trappings that comprise our identity, a personal crisis can develop. As individuals reach a transitional phase in adult development, changes occur that can be surprising and often will create anxiety associated with an uncertain future.

God intended for us to live with gratitude for all he has provided from our childhood onward.

This season of Thanksgiving is a special reminder for expressing gratitude to God and other people for the joy they have provided that’s made life worth living. Praise God for giving us Jesus, the Prince of Peace!     

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All you that are righteous be glad because of what the Lord has done! Remember what the Holy God has done, and give thanks to him.

~Psalm 97:13 Good News Bible

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In What Ways Is God Taking Care of You?

Every individual and family will experience a crisis at some level in due time. A crisis may appear totally unexpected, creating surprise, confusion, and sadness. It is possible to diminish the impact of a crisis by realizing there are ways of managing a response when it does come.

God is in the business of helping us when we seek his guidance in every aspect of life. Psalm 32:7 provides these assuring words: “You are my hiding place. You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” When a crisis occurs, help is available.

Counter weaknesses with your strengths instead of delaying to take action. Permit challenges to be a blessing by realizing change is needed. Take care of your body, for it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In this season of Thanksgiving, praise God with gratitude for his love, guidance, and provision.                         

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God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you…Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!…Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

~Psalm 63:1,3,7 New Living Translation

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Is It Beneficial to Identify Positive Attributes in Others?

We are all aware of what happens when important issues are not addressed and solutions found. Delaying to take action to find solutions is fertile ground for a crisis to evolve. A crisis can be avoided by seeking help from God and expressing gratitude for what he provides.

Rare is the situation where it is impossible to express gratitude. I  realize that resentment and fear can so dominate a relationship or a situation that the expressions of gratitude seem beyond utterance. Yet the desire for peace and acceptance seldom escapes our consciousness.

Consider the other person’s positive attributes and tell them what you observe. Permit mutual love for God to create a sense of gratitude within you. This can be the beginning of a relationship of peace for each person. God gives insight, hope and peace to those who love him.            

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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called… And be thankful.

~Colossians 3:15 Revised Standard Version

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Is a Crisis Preventable?

Procrastination may eventually create a crisis in significant areas of a relationship. If important issues are neglected and unresolved, they can be responsible for creating a crisis. Failure to adjust to personal differences leads to misunderstandings and miscommunications in relationships.

Efforts to discuss issues may digress into anger if differences in personalities, beliefs, and feelings are allowed to dominate and potentially cause tension. If just thinking about certain issues arouse acute anxiety, postpone discussing these issues until after Thanksgiving celebrations. 

By focusing on mutual feelings of gratitude, tension and irritability can be averted. God’s word encourages us to “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.” Isaiah 26:3 promises to “keep in perfect peace those who trust in him.” So do not delay in asking God for wisdom and peace.  

                    

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Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.

~Ephesians 4:3 Good News Bible

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How Does Procrastination Change Your Identity?

Procrastination has been characterized as the art of delay, which means to successfully put off doing a task until later or never. Biblical history credits God’s people with delaying to do what they knew was God’s will. Adam and Eve delayed confessing their sin to God until it could not be avoided.

Procrastination is defined as passive resistance rather than open rebellion. Passive resistance knows a task needs to be done, but it sabotages that commitment through delays caused by anxiety or by deliberate resistance.

Overcoming procrastination will change your identity as you permit God to redeem you with his unconditional love. Remember, God sent Jesus to redeem you from the irresponsibility of sin and its penalty. He chose you to be at work in his world to do what is set before you to do. If you cooperate with God, you will definitely be blessed with confidence.  

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There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life sets [you] free from the law of sin and death.

~Romans 8:1 New International Version

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