The Power of a Grateful Heart

Psalm 100:4-5 says, ”Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Gratitude kills attitude.  Plain and simple it’s the truth, y’all.  Thinking grateful thoughts, having an outlook of gratitude and verbalizing them truly dissolves all negative emotions that can wreck your heart and ruin your day.

Scripture is clear that our heart should first and foremost be full of praise towards our amazing Lord.  I don’t know about you, but I obviously don’t believe this truth all the time by the way I so easily give into complaining, discouragement, self-pity, and bitterness.  Can I get an Amen, anyone?

Gratitude is powerful, and here are 3 reasons you want to make absolutely certain your heart’s attitude is gratitude:

1.  Gratitude (you need to verbalize it, friends) takes your eyes off of yourself and puts them back on God.  You realize who is in control, who is truly the ONLY One who provides all things, and where your help comes from.  Every time I forget these things is when I unknowingly open the door for fear, worry, and a myriad of things that cause problems for not only myself but anyone else around me!  So take a few moments first thing in the morning and throughout the day to STOP, take a deep breath, and recognize God’s goodness.  And then, THANK Him for it.  It could be the breathtaking sunrise (hello early risers) or pretty birds and their amazing songs, or the precious family God has given you (even though they are not perfect!).

2.  Gratitude invites God’s presence and makes the enemy flee (hello, that’s good news!).  God loves it when His children love and praise Him. The Bible says that the Lord actually inhabits the praises of His people in Psalm 22:3.  So it’s especially powerful when we praise God as we are attracting the atmosphere of Heaven!  And yes, the enemy hates God and hates it when God’s children praise Him.  The devil cannot stand it when we worship and praise God—so we are actually accomplishing so much in the spiritual realm when we praise God. My advise: just do it....and then repeat as much as possible!

3.  Gratitude leaves no room for complaining. Can I talk to all my sisters out there?  I fall prey to this ugly temptation more often than I would like.  Complaining is all about me.  It’s just plain selfish.  I didn’t get my way, I don’t like what’s going on, and so on.  Well, self: it’s not all about you, but it’s all about the One who died for you, Jesus Christ.  So be grateful for every amazing little (and BIG) thing that He gave me and continually gives me and stop this non-sense of complaining.  Sorry for my rant, but in all seriousness it’s true of us ladies!  Be a Woman of God that realizes everything God has given you (even if it’s just the breath in our lungs) and thank Him for it.  That gratitude will truly kill any bad attitude and fill you with life, peace, strength, comfort and hope!

If you read this article, conside yourself “challenged” today to start thinking about how amazing your wonderful Heavenly Father is and thanking Him for all His goodness.  If you will take the challenge, I can promise you, you will see and feel a difference in your days to come!

xo, 

Ashley