From the Pulpit: An action-plan of thankfulness

This month I have had the honor to dwell on gratitude and thankfulness with you. I shared with you this last month that thankfulness often refocuses my perspective, refreshes my heart, reminds me of God’s goodness and at the heart of it all is grace. 

Here are several ways to now practice thankfulness and embrace this kind of grace in our lives. First, choose the attitude of gratitude. If an attitude is reflected in how we think, then we can change the way we think (to change our minds) and choose thankfulness. How do we change the way we think? Paul gives good advice in his letter to the Colossians, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Col. 2:6-7). Receive Christ, live in him, be rooted, and built up in him, become strong in faith, and then choose to overflow with thankfulness. Sounds like a nice road map towards an attitude of gratitude. 

Second, say thanks to God every day. A little bit later in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we are encouraged in, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). Invite God to be a part of everything you do. When we invite Jesus to guide our minds, hearts, and actions we can see God’s grace at work in all we do. With eyes like that, it is easier to regularly say “thank you” to God. If we can make it a daily habit, it will start to shape our character.

Choosing an attitude of gratitude and thanking God every day, will help us become grace filled people. I pray for this in your life and mine.