TOPIC: The Attitude of Gratitude (December 26, 2024)

SCRIPTURE FOCUS: Luke 17:19

The attitude of gratitude is a consistent effort at maintain thanks and appreciation to God for who He is, the things He has done, and the things He is set to do.

Gratitude is key in our lives as believers and there is practically nothing we should do without gratitude. This is what the scripture says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18;

From our scripture focus, we see the story of the ten lepers. Jesus had met them and in an attempt to heal them of their leprosy told them to go and show themselves to the priest.

On their way, they found out that they had been cleansed. I believe there is a reason for the choice of words as used by Luke, the writer. Being cleansed, one of the lepers, who was a Samaritan turned to go back and thank Jesus.

It felt like Jesus was expecting their thanks and this shows us an important lesson. God expects us to be thankful to Him for the things that He does for us. The Bible says this in Psalms 92:1;

There are so many reasons why we should be grateful to God but then we might be forced by the devil to think that there are none. Or for some people, just being ungrateful as person could be the reason why they fail to have an attitude of gratitude.

Knowing the benefits of gratitude might spur us into showing God our appreciation for the things that He has done for us. Our scripture focus for today makes us understand that appreciation brings perfection. The one who has a heart of gratitude and shows God with the fruit of their lips how grateful they are will experience perfection.

It also shows us that when God begins to do great things in our lives, it is always a work in progress and for that progress to continue, we have to be thankful for the things He has done already.

It is just like what Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Ministries said, “Appreciation is the application for more.” When you are thankful, God will be forced to do more. And if He has begun to do something, your show of appreciation will make Him do more. This is the idea we should have at all times.

For the leper, he was cleansed and when he returned to give thanks, he was made whole. For you, it could be that God has blessed you with a good job and when you come to give thanks, He will give you speed and promotion. We can’t tell but then when gratitude is in place, you will find that you are getting more from God.

Today, make a decision to be full of thanks. If possible, get a journal and outline all the things that God has done for you. The scripture speaking in Psalms 103:2;

When you forget, you will not be able to thank properly. If we do not try to take stock of the things that God has done for us, we will definitely end up being ungrateful.

This happens to be one of the truest principles of life – because we are human, we tend to focus on the things that are not working, taking our eyes away from those that are. If we can redirect our focus to the things that are working, the things that God is doing, we will become more grateful. This is how to build a heart of gratitude.

ACTION OF THE DAY: Take time out today to revisit the things that God has done for you. Get a jotter and a pen and write them down and you will see reasons to thank God for the year that 2024 has been.

Prayer for December 26, 2024

Father, thank you for the gift of a new day. I thank you for everything that you have done for me since the beginning of the year. Father, I have not been grateful but as I look back I can see the things that you have done for me. Forgive me Lord for my ingratitude and ask that you help me to cultivate and maintain a heart of gratitude.