Gratitude

A Bible sitting on a desk

carl & tracy gossett/Flickr

First of all, what is gratitude? One definition is “the quality of being thankful, readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” 

The Holy Bible says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

When trying to bring homelessness to an end on a  national and international level, we must show gratefulness, kindness, thankfulness and joyfulness, peacefulness, and togetherness. And the list goes on and on. Amen! Hallelujah!

Would you like to cultivate a greater sense of gratitude?

George Herbert, a seventeenth-century British poet, encourages readers toward that goal in his poem “Gratefulness.” 

“Thou that has given so much to me, give me one thing more, a grateful heart.”

Herbert recognized the only thing he needed to be thankful was simply an awareness of the blessing God had already given him. 

The Bible declares Christ Jesus as the source of all blessings in Romans 11:36: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. This likely isn’t right, but I don’t know what is.

“All things” encompasses both the extravagant and the mundane, everyday gifts in our lives. Everything we receive in life comes directly from our heavenly Father, and he willingly gives us those gifts out of his love for us. 

The Holy Bible talks  about “gifts” in the Book of James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” 

It is truly a blessing when you can give cheerfully to those in need and receive cheerfully from those who just might have more than they need. Amen!

Did you  know it is better to give than to receive. Give and it should be given back to you. God  gave his one and only begotten son, Jesus Christ our lord. Amen!

The Holy Bible says in the Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

To expand my awareness of God’s blessings in my life, I am learning to cultivate a heart that acknowledges the sources of all the joy I experience each day, but especially the ones I often take for granted. 

What is this “so much” that God has already given to you?

Opening our eyes to those blessings will help us to develop grateful hearts. 

Take a few minutes to thank God for what comes to your mind right now. 

Try to do that throughout the day as well. When you think of all that’s good, thank God. 

The Holy Bible says in Proverbs 3:7: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”


Issues |Religion


Region |Washington DC

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