Dr. Rick Mandl - August 17, 2020
Whatever Happens
Whatever Happens
Monday, August 17, 2020
Hey church family, did you know that An Attitude of Gratitude Will Lower Your Stress? Maybe that’s why, in His word, God tells us... “Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this.”
Gratitude is the world’s healthiest human emotion. It actually increases your immunity to sickness. Plus, ungrateful people tend to be unhappy people. Nothing ever satisfies them. They never have enough. They are “when-and-then” people who think, “When such and such happens, then I’ll be happy.”
Someone once said, “Whatever you don’t turn into praise turns into pride.” According to the Talmud, which is the Jewish commentary on the Old Testament… “A man embezzles from God when he makes use of this world without uttering a blessing.” In other words, if you enjoy something without giving thanks, it’s as if you have stolen it from God. Anything less than gratitude is grand larceny!
Psalm 100 tells us that we are to... “Enter His gates with thanksgiving.” It’s as if, without the attitude of gratitude, we don’t even get in the front door! Sometimes we get so preoccupied with our problems and struggles that we forget to count our blessings. Sometimes to do that we need to get outside of ourselves and ask questions such as, “What would a blind person give to be able to see the things that I’m seeing today?” If you’re feeling down, let me encourage you to take a few minutes to jot down in a journal or on a piece of paper at least 20 blessings from God.
Not sure where to start? Take a cue from Psalm 100. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, And his faithfulness continues to each generation." Those are things for which all of us can give thanks. So start there and then add to your list. Do that and you’ll be healthier and happier too! God bless you.
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