Grateful - wk11

Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)
18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Hey everyone, it’s Tricia, and today we are looking at Day 6 in the Alone With God journal. Go to the page that says What Am I Grateful For This Week? If you don’t have an Alone With God journal and want to order one, you can do that at wordbymail.com.

The top section of this page says Answered Prayers, where we want to note the prayers God has answered this week. Review your week and see the beautiful ways God speaks to you in prayer and daily living. Writing them down is a way to hold these stories in remembrance, right? And even pass those down to future generations – these stories of God’s particular faithfulness to you.

But even when we are in the waiting room of life, and this is the season of waiting on God to move and answer, it’s getting frustrating waiting on his timing; we can remind ourselves his timing is always perfect. We can trust he will never fail us – not even now.

Now for those blank lines. We know that cultivating gratitude is a practical way to stand firm in faith when hard times come, or the enemy tries to steal our joy. But it can be so unnerving, can’t it, to stare at a blank page and wonder what to give thanks for.

So, here are some things I do. In these blank lines, I focus my gratitude on God, not my circumstances. I try to remember to be thankful for God’s character and steadfast love, even when I don’t feel his presence. And when I reflect on God’s faithfulness, it is easy – to see his provision for me.

Even through hardship, God shows me hope and comfort; I can reflect on that and praise him. Also, as God refines me in his fire, I can be incredibly grateful for the things I don’t have now… sometimes it’s something tangible I have let go of, or a habit, or a relationship. As God prunes and refines me, I can write my thanks for this act of love because it draws me closer to him. And then, even in the things I have to do during the week that I don’t want to do, AS God gives me the discipline and self-control to accomplish those, I can express my gratitude.

So, when we think of gratitude, it can help to remember that when we acknowledge our need for a Savior or think about our identity in Christ, or when we recognize we are stewards of God’s blessings as a child of God, then everything flows from a thankful heart.

Today, I encourage you to read Ephesians 3:18-19. And be blessed today as you take the time to remember God’s incredible, extravagant, marvelous, unstoppable, unconditional, faithful, steadfast love for you during this past week.