It was the beginning of a new year, time for reflection on the past year, and also on the new season ahead. I paged through my diary of 2022 and a feeling of thankfulness washed over me as I recounted all the answered prayers and blessings.
Sometimes we can dwell so long on what is lacking that we totally miss the abundance that we do have.
As I look at my list of blessings, my spirit is lifted up. My eyes are once again focused on my Saviour and hope fills my soul. Hope, even if everything around us is tinged with fear and uncertainty for the future.
Psl 9:1-2 “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.“
This word “recount” means to count, number, take account off, declare, tell. Therefore, it must be written down so we can reread it, and tell of God’s wondrous works. Retell it to ourselves because we so easily forget.
True thankfulness is about being content with your circumstances, even if they are not perfect, or even if they are bad. Just saying “thank you” for things going your way is a fleeting emotion that soon passes when life does not go your way anymore. True gratitude and thankfulness towards Abba Father can be seen in the following quote:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion into clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Melody Beattie, 1990, The Language of Letting Go.
My challenge to you is to write down your blessings and all that you are grateful for. Do this daily and frequently look back and reflect on what Abba Father has already done. Our enemy wants to break our spirit, cover us in fear and hopelessness. It is only through reading the Word, the life-giving Word, and a spirit of true gratitude that we can overcome the spirit of depression and death around us.
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”