Devotions with Pastor Jerry

RE-TUNING ATTITUDE INTO GRATITUDE

Remember when there was such a thing as a TV antenna on your roof or antenna rabbit ears on your TV? To get better reception it was often necessary to re-point the antenna in just the right direction to improve the picture. Even in college we would tape aluminum foil across the windows and touch the rabbit ear antenna on it to improve the picture reception.

Well, life is not much different when it comes to our own attitude. Frequently it needs to be re-tuned and re-adjusted to bring us back into an attitude of gratitude to God. Gratitude is not just something we are born with or can acquire by use of a sophisticated phone app. Gratitude is like a tiny seed that must be planted, watered and cultivated within the Christian heart and by faith is sustained and nurtured by God’s grace.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.

WOW, Ok, that strikes as a big attitudinal adjustment. Maybe not as big as it seems when you understand that God is not requiring you to give thanks for everything; like hitting my finger with the hammer (wrong nail), or the miserable day at the office, or the devastation of loosing a loved one. We are not asked to give thanks for the difficulties, but rather re-adjust our attitude that even in these things we focus on gratitude to God with a heart of faith that He is BIGGER than any difficulty, and through it the Holy Spirit is at work for our good and His Glory.

Even David in verse 4 of the 23rd Psalm wrote: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me”. We can offer our gratitude that God is with us no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the trial, whether the lowest valley or highest mountain top experience, He has never and will never leave your side.

Not knowing why things happen or how we can ever get through hard times challenges our faith. We have little control over what happens to us, but we control the attitude of our response to either trust in God or just be in need of another attitudinal adjustment. But praise God He gives us the hope we need: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)

I leave you with these precious words of this poem to ponder and reflect on; written by the daughter of a very dear friend, Minister and Missionary. May God Bless you as you live out a new attitude of Gratitude.

Gratitude - a reflection on God's love and grace.
By Thandi Nelson
The human heart - how it longs to be known
To be loved and accepted - not all alone
The human mind - how it longs to share
To create and think - not left empty and bare

But worldly expectations - how heavily they weigh
Cramming us all into a box - things we ought to do every day
And worldly standards - how harshly they tear
Shutting us down and shaming us - saying we don’t fit here or there

But acceptance - how gently it opens closed off walls
Allowing for freedom - permitting both victories and falls
And love - how kind and needed it is for our crushed hearts
Binding up wounds - putting back together all the fragmented parts

Gratitude - how can one put it into words or possibly repay
The feeling of indebtedness - acceptance and love in one’s memory will always stay
Loyal love - the one that says “you kept me in this world and now I make a choice
To love like you have loved - speak up for the wounded and those with no voice”
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Pastor Jerry