This morning I wanted to share with you from my spiritual journal. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Dear Lord:
My heart is full this morning of the goodness of God. I am so, so grateful.
Lord, thank you for your Word and for revealing yourself and your ways to us through the Scripture.
- Giving thanks honors God and prepares the way for God to do more in our lives.
He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23 NIV).
- Giving thanks changes our perspective (reframing) (Philippians 4:4-9).
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me– put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9 NIV).
Lord, thank you for what you are teaching us. We are learning that attachment to God and others fuels our joy (Life Model Works). Our brains were designed to run on the fuel of joy. So, when we connect with God and others, when we see the face of the Lord and others light up when they see us, we experience joy. As we offload our anxiety to the Lord through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, our perspective changes. And, such a life of joy and thanksgiving opens the door for God to pour out his wholeness and well-being in us and through us, because we have new capacity to experience God’s shalom flowing in and through us. Thank you, Lord.
Lord, thank you for the gift of music. Several songs are helping me to express my gratitude and worship this morning:
- So Will I (100 Billion X), Hillsong Worship
- Remembrance, Hillsong Live.
- Goodness of God, Bethel, from the Peace album.
- The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, Veggie Tales (brings a smile to my face)
Lord, thank you for the spiritual practice of Interactive Gratitude which I learned a few months ago from Michael Sullivant and Life Model Works.
Spiritual Practice: Interactive Gratitude
- Intro:
- Giving thanks is a way to fuel our joy by attaching our brains to the Lord and acknowledging his love for us.
- In Romans chapter 1, Paul the apostle says that the minds of human beings have become darkened because of a refusal to be grateful to God.
- “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23).
- Interactive Gratitude.
- Practice giving thanks and listening to the Lord. In this exercise, write the impression that comes to your mind. Start with something that makes you grateful. Then, record your impression of God’s response.
- Express gratitude from me to God for something good in my life or my day. Write it down in a simple way. Dear God, I am thankful for…
- Imagine God’s response to my gratitude and write it down. What might He be thinking, feeling, or saying back to me, especially about who I am to Him?
And, Lord, thank you for all the social media posts, emails, and texts which encourage us to express thanksgiving to you today.
Here is an illustration from a Faithwalking email today:
“Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.”
John Ortberg
My Interactive Gratitude:
Dear Lord: Thank you for this day of thanksgiving and the chance to honor you, celebrate you, and bless you. I am grateful you gave us this spiritual practice of giving thanks. I give you thanks for who you are, for who I am in you, for my family, for my church family, for my friends, and for your many blessings in my life.
I got this impression from the Lord about what I shared: “I am glad to share my joy with you and for you to experience my life. I celebrate with you and rejoice with you.”
Love, Jeff
