Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy

I have learned that in every circumstance that comes my way, I can choose to respond in one of two ways: I can whine or I can worship! And I can't worship without giving thanks. It just isn't possible. When we choose the pathway of worship and giving thanks, especially in the midst of difficult circumstances, there is a fragrance, a radiance, that issues forth out of our lives to bless the Lord and others.

Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past.

Is the gratitude that flows out of your life as abounding as the grace that has flowed into your life?

An important key to not becoming overwhelmed by what is going on around us is looking for evidences of God’s hand at work in the midst of the turmoil and being “simply overwhelmed with thankfulness to Him.

Gratitude is a lifestyle. A hard-fought, grace-infused, biblical lifestyle.

The consequences of an ungrateful spirit are not as readily seen as, say, those of a contagious disease. But they are no less deadly. Western civilization has fallen prey to an epidemic of ingratitude. Like a poisonous vapor, this subtle sin is polluting our lives, our homes, our churches, and our culture.

I can whine –or– I can worship!