Perspective. Protection. Practice.

Psalm 138:¹ “To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful; before the gods, my heart sings praises to You and You alone.” (Voice)

Gratitude will always have a ‘yet’. There is always a reason to be grateful in spite of… It is all about perspective. The situation may not have changed, but your attitude can change. It depends on how you see the situation. We all go through challenges, through very tough times. I have been through dark valleys, but God changed my perspective. He said to me, ‘Look at it this way’, and that changed my perspective totally. And from the dark place, I began to overflow with gratitude to God. I heard about the story of a girl who got attacked by a shark on the beach. And she was thirteen when it happened. Obviously she could not do what other teenage girls were doing – shopping, partying, wearing bikinis, because of her scars.

But she said something huge, she said, ‘There is no time machine, I cannot go back, I cannot change what happened. But God has a plan for my life, and I am going to go for it!’ You cannot change what has happened, but God has a plan for your life. Are you going to go for God’s plan for your life, or are you going to sit there wondering if you can turn back the hand of time? What is it going to be? Gratitude is so much more than courtesy. Gratitude is much more than being polite. Gratitude is about perspective and with gratitude comes protection. You guard your heart with gratitude. Gratitude guards your heart from negativity, and from every form of corruption and error. Ephesians 5:⁴ “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.” Gratitude changes what comes out of your mouth.

Look for ways to be grateful and express your gratitude. Gratitude is the antidote to a whole lot of mental health problems. I kid you not, it is difficult to find a gratefully depressed person. Gratitude does not only solve mental health problems, but gratitude also solves a lot of character issues. Gratitude protects your heart from bitterness. You cannot be bitter and grateful at the same time. These two cannot coexist. Gratitude protects your heart from materialism. You cannot be materialistic and be grateful at the same time. When you are grateful, materialism loses its grip on you. You cannot be grateful and proud at the same time.

Gratitude protects you from all sorts of negativity. Gratitude is much more than courtesy and more than being polite. Gratitude is about perspective and protection. Gratitude is also about practice. The good news is that you can choose whether you will be a grateful person or a grumpy person. Nobody can make that choice for you.  It is your choice to make.

Prayer: Father, as gratitude fills my heart, change my perspective and guard my heart, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!