“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer
to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name”
(Hebrews 13:15, NIV).
My gift to the Lord is a thankful heart. It
is a heart filled with praise no matter what happens in my life. When things are
hard—when fear and worry persist—when problems overwhelm, I will look for
reasons to be thankful. I will seek to realize the blessings He gives that often
slip by unobserved. The gift of thanksgiving in my heart—in spite of pain or
problems in my life—is my sacrifice of praise.
There are always blessings, but they are
often missed because my mind is focused on my circumstance and not on His
faithfulness to carry me through it. My mind is consumed with worry or fear
instead of His peace because I have not given Him my struggle. But if really
seek I will discover the blessing of His grace that he extends to carry me. I
often miss that grace because I am struggling so hard to control what I don't
have the ability to handle. Often I am so consumed with the pain of my own life,
that I miss what my own brothers and sisters face in their own. I miss the
blessing of sacrificing myself for the sake of someone else.
Each day I will open my eyes to His blessings
around me. I will realize that others have needs, and I will give myself away in
spite of my own circumstance. When I reach out to others I am not so
self-consumed with my own problems. My focus changes. My heart is placed on
another person's needs, and the selfishness of my own will is broken. The wall
which has imprisoned my own pain comes down, and praise and thankfulness spring
up. I discover that in giving myself away, I receive more and more grace from
Him. It is powerful enough to carry me through my own circumstance, and make me
realize that I have not been left alone. The praise that once felt like a
sacrifice no longer feels like one. Thankfulness and praise rise from a heart
that knows He is able and will take care of my life no matter
what.
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