Linger in Gratitude

So here we are once again today with thoughts about gratitude.  Honestly, I think I need these kinds of reminders every day because the tendency to be grateful seems fleeting, if there at all, rather than the texture of most days. And so as we consider being grateful today I thought we could focus on what it means to remain in a posture of gratitude a little longer.

You know, sometimes when time with others has gone well or we’ve been on a lovely vacation, for example, we just want to linger there for a few more minutes before heading back to whatever our ordinary everyday lives are. What might it look like for us to “linger in gratitude?”

We are given a picture of this kind of lifestyle with these words we read in the Bible:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Heavenly Father, Help us to find Your heart today. Show us how to rejoice in You when so many things around us and even inside us are unsettled.  Help us to use the simple steps You’ve shown us to find our way through – to pray continually, to keep Your loving face before us, and to welcome Your sustaining presence to fill us and strengthen us. 

And of course, we can dare to live in that continual rejoicing and thankfulness because we know that God’s love endures forever and can be found in every moment of every day.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:34

And so God, we want to give thanks today because no matter how challenging our circumstances, we know that we belong to You, a good God who takes care of those He loves at every turn.  Nothing can separate us from Your love today.  As hard as some things seem, we thank You God that Your love endures. 

We may not see the physical evidence of that in what’s before our eyes at the moment, but You have great power and You are in control of everything that is going on in our world and in our hearts today. What security we have even though our emotions may waver and our spirits may lag.  And so with the write of this Psalm we affirm:

Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!     His faithful love endures forever.  Who can list the glorious  miracles of the Lord?  Who can ever praise him enough? Psalm 106:1-2      Amen

Well, we can’t begin to tap into all the good things God is doing for us in just a couple of minutes.  So let’s do our best all through this day to return to gratitude often and to linger there as we refresh our memories with as many examples as we can of God’s goodness in our lives.