A Grateful Heart
Count What God Has Done
A grateful heart does not wait for perfect circumstances. It finds God in the ordinary ones.
Thursday has a way of testing you. The week is almost over but not quite. You can see the weekend from here and yet there is still so much left to do. It is easy, on a Thursday, to rush past everything God has already done this week without stopping to notice it. And that is exactly why we pause here.
Gratitude is not a personality trait that some people have and others do not. It is a discipline. A choice. A practice that has to be tended the way a garden is tended, consistently, intentionally, and especially on the days it does not come naturally.
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 · NIVScripture quoted from the New International Version (NIV).
In all circumstances. Not just the good ones. Not just the weeks that went smoothly. Paul wrote those words from some of the hardest seasons of his life and yet his posture was one of thanksgiving because he had learned that gratitude is not dependent on circumstances. It is rooted in the unchanging goodness of a God who is always at work even when we cannot see it clearly.
A grateful heart does not wait for perfect circumstances. It finds God in the ordinary ones.
So today, before the week ends, let us count together. Not the big obvious blessings only. The small ones. The ones that almost slipped by unnoticed. The coffee that was warm. The text from a friend who was thinking of you. The moment this week when something difficult turned out better than you feared. God was in all of it.
- Name five things you normally take for granted and thank God for each one specifically
- Think of someone who impacted your week and consider reaching out to thank them
- Write down one hard thing from this week and what it taught you
- List the tiny blessings from the past few days, the ones easy to overlook
- Reflect on one prayer God has answered, recently or long ago, and sit with gratitude for it
Lord, thank You. For this week in all of its ordinary and imperfect moments. For the blessings I noticed and the ones I almost missed. You have been at work in all of it and I am grateful. Help me to carry a thankful heart not just today but into every day that follows. Amen.
With love and grace,
Honeycomb & Heart