Gratitude Trumps Attitude

I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High. — Psalm 7:17

Some days I wake up in a funk. I couldn’t tell you why, but I’m sure you can possibly relate. One way I have learned to battle “the funk” is by practicing gratitude. Dictionary.com describes gratitude as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful”. Webster dictionary adds, “a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. You guys, that’s biblical right there. Practicing a feeling of gratitude leads us to a “readiness” to show our appreciation by then acting in kindness. I love that the feeling of gratitude produces action. Well, it can if we allow it to.

If you think about it, it’s pretty hard to stay funky when you have so much to be thankful for. When we are walking through valleys where the circumstances of life seem to be crushing in on us from all sides, we’ve got to dig deep to find that gratitude. It is there. Start with the most basic provisions. Shelter, food, family, etc. Pray through those basic needs, thanking God for them. Then move to the harder ones — maybe the very ones that are causing you strife. For example, we went through an extremely long process with the sale of our last home. It was seriously painful at times. I had to force myself to thank God in the midst of it so He could change my attitude.

It went something like this: “Ok, God, this is pretty awful. I want this house to sell so we can pay off our student loans and move into our new home. I know I have things to be thankful for, but it’s hard to think of them now. Ok, thank You that we have a home currently. Thank You that we get to move closer to work and family. Thank You that You are providing us a way to get out of college debt. Thank You that You already know the plan that lies ahead for this and it is GOOD. Thank You that You even care to hear my worries and fears and pleas for help. Thank You even more that You want to take it from me, so I can have freedom mentally and spiritually. Use this mess for the good of others. And so on…” It always starts awkwardly and with a little resistance, and then before you know it you’ve got pages of thank you’s and praises.

Whatever you are walking through, friend, He sees you. Big or small, He cares about it because He loves you and desires for you to walk through life victoriously.

• Stake claim over your funk today and crush it with gratitude. Not today, Satan. Not today.

Pray with me: Lord, You know what I’m walking through right now. You know my propensity to get into a funk and stay there, not giving any acknowledgment to all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for. Frankly, it’s just hard to notice those things in the moment. Change my eyes, Lord. Help me to see from Your perspective. Help me to immediately recognize when I am in a funk and have a bad attitude, and let my response be to crush it with gratitude. I know You desire for me to walk through life victoriously and that’s what I want too. Thank You for caring for me and loving me perfectly. Amen.

Excerpted with permission from Remain by Tara Smith, copyright Tara Smith.

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Your Turn

Are you in a funk? It happens to all of us! We can either stay there and ruminate on all the things that bother us and complain internally (or even worse, externally) or we can turn our hearts toward gratitude and improve our attitude! Come share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from you! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full