Creating a Heart of Gratitude
One of the most powerful emotions is gratitude. If we can find ways to be thankful and grateful throughout our life, we will find the power and emotional strength to walk through some of life’s hardest seasons.
It's not always easy to find ways to be thankful and grateful. But, one of the things Scripture teaches us throughout the Psalms is that there is always something to be grateful for.
The Psalms teach us various songs and poems for every season of our life. But more than that, they also teach us how to cultivate a heart of gratitude and worship towards God.
We belong to a God who loves us and cares deeply for us. God’s love and goodness will never end. Psalm 100:5 praises God for these things:
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Through Psalms like this, we can begin to build a habit of gratitude towards God and all that He has done. We can thank God for what He has done in our lives, what He is currently doing, and what He will do in the future as we follow after Him.
Because God is always good, loving, and faithful, there is always something we can be grateful for—even in the midst of difficult seasons of life.
Take a few moments today to strengthen the habit of gratitude in your life.
First, begin by thanking God for who He is: that He is good, faithful, and loving towards you.
Next, thank God for all that He has done in your life. Thank Him for the good things in your life, and that He has walked with you through the hard times.
Lastly, thank God for all He will continue to do in your life.
Transformation Starts Here
Do you want to be new?
All around the world, humans long for change. We long to throw off old habits and ways of thinking if they aren’t serving us anymore. Thousands of self-help books, podcasts, articles, and all kinds of media exist for this very reason. We know we need to change, and we want to! And yet it can feel impossible.
Paul, one of Jesus’ disciples, shares this powerful truth in Romans 12:2 (NIV):
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Transformed by the renewing of our minds. What does this mean?
Transformation is a massive change. It’s thorough. Complete. A total difference. Like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, transformation brings an end to the old and a beginning to the new.
Paul is showing us that transformation isn’t work we do from the outside in—transformation happens from the inside out. It ...