Gratitude is a Must

Healthy souls are grateful souls and grateful souls have happy hearts.

~KBH~

The Holy Spirit always corrects my untrue thoughts or perspectives, but I am noticing how much quicker He has been doing so in recent times. In the quiet of the night, as I was putting my son to bed, the enemy planted this ridiculous thought that I was so burdened, although I could not pinpoint a reason for this random and heavy thought. Immediately, a different thought barraged through, saying, "check your thankfulness".

My ‘gratitude-omometre’ was trending in the wrong direction which is usually the culprit for how we perceive and experience life. You won’t have to convince yourself to be happy or feel like you are being fake with others if you habitually meditate on the good in your life. We have so much to be grateful for which always helps to keep our hearts light and souls merry.

A song called ‘Toast’ by the artist ‘Koffee’ was popular a few years ago and though I didn’t understand much of what she was saying I picked up the words 'thanks' and 'thankful' in between along with the phrase “Gratitude is a Must”, which stuck with me.

As I contemplated my errant thoughts’ focus on things that could make me sulky and despondent, I remembered that phrase alongside the scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks at all times. Can you imagine that a huge barrier between happy and healthy lives and dull and burdened ones is our ability to be thankful in all circumstances. We have no shortage of things to be grateful for and with intentionality and a little effort, (maybe using a gratitude journal), you can change not just your mood, but your life.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22) A cheerful heart doesn’t just fall from the sky. Cheerfulness comes from a genuine appreciation of your life and circumstances which only happens when you’re grateful for where you are, what you have, and who is with you.

So how about asking yourself some questions in those categories.

Is there anything I can be thankful for with where I am?

What do I have for which I should be grateful?

Are there people in my life for whom I should be thankful?

Use that gratitude journal to write something specific in at least one category per day and then meditate on it until it causes you to smile.

Some of you may be nursing very fresh wounds of hurt and I understand the seeming impossibility of seeing ‘the bright side’, but I still want to ask you to try. Maybe the things you’ve identified in each category won’t immediately translate to a smile but I guarantee they are working and refreshing your heart. Eventually, the ‘eyes’ of your heart will begin to look at the situation and the world differently.

Gratitude is a must. I say that fully acknowledging that it is effortless to slip into a place of despondence and focus on all the bad with little regard for all that continues to be so worthy of thanksgiving in your life. Thankfully, God never lets us slip too far down that rabbit hole and reminds us to smile, be thankful for all that is good, and trust that He will deal with everything else. Just the fact of God’s presence, protection, provision, omniscience, and leadership over our lives is enough to smile and live joyfully.

Admittedly, this piece began as a message to me but if there’s one thing these years of blogging have taught me: someone, somewhere is facing a similar concern/challenge, so maybe these words are also for you.

Heavy unexplainable gloom may be real, logical, and understandable but your present experiences should not dictate your outlook. How do you and I know that this is not just some motivational mumbo jumbo? Because as soon as the realisation of my ingratitude was implanted, my thoughts immediately changed. It was easier to think about and be grateful for all the great things in my life, not the least of which was my healthy happy baby, soundly asleep in my arms.

So, if you need a little support to get you going, say this prayer with me:

“Lord Jesus I am your child but that doesn’t exempt me from being troubled by the issues in my life. I rely on you to keep your promise to save, restore, deliver, and provide for my every need. While I wait, I want to do so joyfully and happily, so bring to my remembrance all the good that you continue to shower on me and cause me to smile with each thought. Most importantly, I am grateful for your promise that you will always be my shepherd and Lord and your friendship and love. Thank you for this breath of life, the love of others, and the great things you ARE doing and still have in store for my life. Amen.”

Love Ya!

Krystal Baynes-Hoseinee

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