Beyond Gratitude - Devotional

Gratitude has been popular for a few years. We have been encouraged to notice good things and feel grateful so we can better enjoy our lives and improve our well-being.

We can all benefit from taking time to identify, think about and appreciate good things in our lives. The Bible instructs us to meditate on the good (see Philippians 4:8). However, we must make sure we go further and acknowledge through prayer the One from whom all blessings flow.

Thanksgiving is a key form of and companion to prayer. Rather than only being generally grateful in attitude, let's make sure we cultivate a habit of thanking God for what we appreciate and value. This helps us centre our lives not on positivity, but on God. As Psalm 100 beautifully expresses, God is worthy of all thanks because He is our creator, He takes good care of us, and He is good, loving and faithful.

We are blessed to be able to have a relationship with God the Father and to be able to give Him thanks at any time. We have not earned this privilege, but have it only through Jesus. That's something to thank God for!

Why not go beyond gratitude and spend time thanking God for 5 specific things each day this week?

Determine to move beyond gratitude to thanksgiving as you reflect on or Write the Scriptures below:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Psalm 105:1-5 

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

All verses are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) or the English Standard Version Amplified (ESVUK).

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