Happy 18th Birthday Maddie! 

Yes, Maddie turned 18 yesterday!

Wow, how the years have flown. 

12 Disciplines of a Grateful Heart

Part 11

Keep a record of God’s faithfulness to you

There’s nothing quite like reading over the blessings you have received from the Lord and being grateful all over again.

We have so much to be thankful for and we experience so much of God’s mercy and love every day. God’s goodness to us is immeasurable, incalculable, unfathomable, boundless, unlimited, innumerable and so vast that we can’t even grasp the depth of God’s love and we definitely can’t count his abundant blessings.

But we can do something to help be a reminder. And that is to keep a record of God’s faithfulness. This means writing it down. Finding a way that works for you to keep a record of his goodness. Whether that be a daily journal or a list on the side of the fridge or notes on your phone. Whatever you choose to do is not the issue, it’s choosing to do it that’s important.

We read of God’s love in the Bible and we enjoy reading the stories of his blessings on the lives of people in days gone by. But we can write our own stories too. Stories of goodness, mercy and love.

By making it a point to sit down and stop and think about what God has given you and all he has done for you, you will develop a heart of gratitude as you read over the evidences of his love toward you.

When you keep a record, be specific. Don’t hold back on the detail, so that in days to come, you can go back over those blessings and remember exactly what it was God did for you and how it was that he answered your prayer. These should be an encouragement to us to keep on. To keep serving, to keep loving, to keep showing mercy to others.

As we write down our records of God’s faithfulness, our hearts begin to overflow with gratitude and love. We recall blessings and answers to prayer, however large or small. We give thanks for the little things, like the birdsong outside our window or the crystal clear water of a stream or a cloudless sky or a peaceful night of rest.

Lamentations 3:22-23

 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed,

 because his compassions fail not.

 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Psalm 36:5

 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;

 and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a pen and some paper and start your list! There is not enough time in this life to list everything God has done for us, but at least we can make a start and begin to develop a heart of gratitude and let our praise of him flow from our lips and let our lives be a testimony to others of his goodness to us. 

Psalm 145:9

 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies

are over all his works.

Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Refrain:

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your blessings, see what God has done!

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;

Count your many blessings—money cannot buy

Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all;

Count your many blessings, angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

12 Disciplines of a Grateful Heart

Part 10

Try a voluntary fast from something you take for granted

In developing a grateful heart, we’ve learnt quite a few things that we can do to help grow that spirit of thankfulness, but when we come to this one, it may not be so easy.  No one really enjoys fasting. We don’t like to abstain from eating or drinking for a period of time. It’s not very enjoyable.

In the Bible, we see many instances of fasting. Esther, Nehemiah, Moses, David and even the Lord Jesus himself and countless others fasted and prayed for different reasons. I’m not going to go into detail on fasting, but I just want to explain a little about what the author of these 12 disciplines is trying to get at.

I’m not sure that he used the correct word, fast, as fasting has to do with denying yourself food or drink for religious purposes. When we are trying to develop a grateful heart, through fasting, the term is loosely used here as we are talking more about denying yourself of something you take for granted, in order for you to become more grateful. Not just food and drink.

If you fast, from food,  you will find that when you give thanks for your long awaited meal, it will take on a whole new meaning. Your heart will be grateful for that first mouthful. But, also, if you walk to work and around town instead of taking the car, it will make you thankful for your vehicle. If you turn off the air conditioning in your home, you will soon be thankful for that blessing too.

We have so much to thank God for and often we don’t acknowledge it or take any notice of it until it’s taken away. We all know someone who has lost a loved one and regretted that they didn’t spend more time with them or tell them they loved them more often.

We take so many things in life for granted. But God is the giver of gifts and all good things. He is the one that blesses us with the ‘things’ we often take for granted.

James 1:17

 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Denying ourselves can lead us to become more grateful. Now, I’m not saying to go on a holiday away from your family, just so you can remember how much you miss them and love them, but just take note of the people and things in your life that you have to give thanks to God for.  And offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to the only one who truly deserves our praise and worship.

Psalm 116:17

 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Psalm 107:22

And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,

 and declare his works with rejoicing.