Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Not long ago I stopped at a store to pick up a few things, and when the transaction was complete, I expected the typical, “Thank you for shopping at …” or “Have a great day.” But instead, I got a life lesson. The young clerk looked me square in the eye and said, “Have a grateful day.”

The Lord knew I needed to hear that word of instruction for my heart’s sake. I think we all need to be reminded to “Have a grateful day.” Why? Because we tend to focus on negative things even when our lives have been richly blessed by God. Often, instead of gratitude, gripes and complaints spew from our lips, perhaps fueled with hearts gripped by self-pity.  

After hearing it, I remember praying, “Yes! Lord help me to have grateful days. Strengthen my resolve to have a grateful heart!”

When I think of a grateful heart, I remember the instruction of Scripture:

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5.18.

Oh give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make know His deeds among the peoples! 1 Chronicles 16.8

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever. Psalm 30.12

Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, and every day for that matter, I’m going to take the advice of that person God brought across my path by a divine encounter and “Have a grateful day.” Gratitude can turn a grueling day into a great one.

We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. Psalm 75.1