Attitude of Gratitude

Each morning during my quiet time with God, I fill my heart, mind, and mouth with praise to the Lord. I marvel at His creation and creativity, His love and generosity, His power and might. Then, closing my Bible, I walk away from my quiet place into the “dailyness” of life. I fail to carry my worship with me as I begin the daily physical walk of First Place for Health.

Reluctantly, I meet my morning exercise group. My feet are heavy and do not want to walk those three miles today. I become overwhelmed with the time and effort it takes to plan and prepare healthy meals, and I just shrug at my Tracker. Most always, I meet temptations, either with my hands hanging limp at my side or tied behind my back.

How can the five minutes between worship with God and my first choice take such a downward turn? What happened to praising God? Can you relate to this kind of day? Resenting exercise turns aside God’s joy of knitting my form into His own. Fretting over meal preparation and tracking takes away my enjoyment of cooking and eating healthy food. Falling prey to every temptation allows my enemy to devour any chance of victory.

All this comes quickly on the heels of praise and thanksgiving! Is there hope? Of course. After all, I am His child! I just have to realize my entire day is really His and for His glory. Closing my Bible in the morning does not end my worship; it is to continue all day long. So now, when dailyness begins to invade God’s worship and praise, I will quickly press pause and turn my complaining into gratitude.

• Exercise . . . instead of “ugh!” I will say, “Thank You, Lord, for creating my body to move with balance and grace. Thank You for the time and ability to walk and Your faithfulness to meet me on my first step. Thank You for friends who walk beside me.”
• Meal planning and preparation . . . instead of “oh, dear!” I will say, “Thank You, Lord, for the gift of food and Your generous provision. I praise You for creating so many healthy varieties that are readily available. Thank You for the opportunity to make healthy choices and to meet my family’s physical needs.”
• Temptations . . . instead of saying nothing, I will raise my hands and say, “Lord, I praise Your glorious name! I need Your power to turn away from this and to make the healthy choice You have placed before me. Your victory allows my victory, and I thank You!”

Keeping an attitude of gratitude is essential in First Place for Health. It is impossible to separate worship, thanksgiving, and praise. A grateful heart is praise and worship to God . . . all day long! And as we continually worship Him, we are continually in His presence. God, thank You for being our God and for being available to hear our grateful hearts offer praise to Your glorious name. Help us to quickly turn our ungrateful attitude to gratitude for all You are—for You are all we desire. Amen.

Journal: Make a list of three complaints in your life today. In each one, find two reasons to give thanks and praise to God. This will become your act of worship.

Judy Marshall