Grace Is the Attitude of Gratitude.

The Spirit of God inspired the apostle Paul to command the Lovers of Jesus to “rejoice always, pray continually,” and “give thanks in all circumstances,” saying, “for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” {NIV}. The Message has, “pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” Meaning with thankful hearts in all things, with attitudes of ceaseless gratitude for the wonder of the world He created, and for the beauty and majesty of Life in His Kingdom.

It has long been recognized by even casual observers of human life and conduct that those who choose to live with gratitude and express their appreciation find a joy and pleasure which much of the world seems to miss. These are some of the evidences of it.

“The root of joy is gratefulness.... It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful”— David Steindl-rast.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder”— G.K. Chesterton.

“For each morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends”— Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Epictetus, the Greek slave turned Stoic philosopher, said, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures” — playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder.

“The struggle ends when the gratitude begins”— Neale Donald Walsh.

There is an Estonian proverb which says, “Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.” As fully evidenced by post-modern America’s ‘entitlement mentality’ = regardless of how you play the Game… everybody gets a trophy!

“Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart”— Henry Clay.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it”— William Arthur Ward.

“Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more— a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise”— George Herbert.

And one last embodiment of the spirit of thankfulness. “With arms outstretched I thank. With heart beating gratefully I love. With body in health I jump for joy. With spirit full I live”— Terri Guillemets. To the extent it is within my power, if I am at all able… this is how I choose to live.

Ric Webb, Shepherd
Heart's Journey Community
hjcommunity.org