Blessings & Battlefields: Let’s Grab for Gratitude!ಮಾದರಿ

Day One

Be in Awe

Let’s play the word association game! Immediately after you read this word I give you, SPEAK out loud the FIRST word that comes to your mind.

Ready? GRATITUDE!

After gathering responses from my own poll, several people defined Gratitude as Thankfulness, Praise, JOY, Peace, Worship, Blessed, Life, Praise God, and Blessings.

Did any of their responses match yours?

Thesaurus.com shares these words as synonyms for Gratitude:

Thanks,

Honor,

Recognition,

Praise,

Response,

Indebtedness.

Take each word individually and think about it specifically. What exactly does it mean to you? Each word is unique from the other and is expressed differently in our everyday lives. For example, we can take the word “Thanks,” look up to the beautiful sky, and say out loud, “Thank you, Lord, for this day!” But, if we concentrate on the word “Indebtedness,” we may have a very different heart posture. A posture where we bow our head and raise our hands, claiming, “Father God, please forgive me. Refine me. Show me where I can be more Christ-like. I stand humbly before You.”

Our own synonyms for the word “Gratitude” depend on our days, our hearts, our circumstances, or our personalities. Yet, there is no doubt our grabbing for Gratitude comes from knowing the AWE and wonder of our Lord. He is our Savior, our refuge, our strength, our friend, our comforter, our everything.

He is all around us. He carries us. He created us and all things! In Genesis 1:1, His first words to us are: “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth.” Romans 1 tells us we are without excuse to not believe in Him because we can see, feel, taste, and smell His creation before us. We are called to be in AWE of Him.

The Awe of our God leads us into deep, soul enriching Gratitude. The reverse is also true. Gratitude stretches our minds, hearts, and souls, opening space and doors to be in complete Awe, wonder, and mystery of our gracious God. The relationship between Awe and Gratitude is like the symbol for infinity. Two continuous small circles, looped together, forever intwined, never ending. They flow gracefully; woven from one to another. They are a glorious path to walk and live.

In fact, Awe and Gratitude are an eternal way to live. In Revelation 5, the final book of the Bible, John shares with us that when we enter our eternal home in the new heaven and earth, we will be in constant Awe of God and His Son, worshipping them with incessant Gratitude. Together, Awe and Gratitude allow us to bring heaven to earth.

Living in Awe sounds wonderful. But what about in our seasons of intense stress or horrific grief? Can we train our eyes and hearts to find spaces in those times to still be thankful and in Awe of our God? Yes. Yes, we can.

In our blessings & battlefields, we can prayerfully dig deep, asking God to show us His light and glory in our personal darkness. For example, after having completed 46 treatments for one of my cancer diagnosis, I discovered some Awe. The last 30 days of the treatments were radiation treatments under my arm. On the very last day, I took courage to finally look at the burn under my arm. To my absolute amazement, the reddest, most raw singed part of my skin was in the shape of a heart! A heart!! Are you kidding me, Lord? In the midst of my deep darkness, He literally showed me He loves me, in my armpit! (Never forget, He has a sense of humor.)

Therefore, be on the lookout for God sending you His Awe and be certain to be Grateful for it! For His creation and His love are in plain sight for all of us to experience.

Awe gives us hope. Awe lets us love and adore. Awe lets us live in His freedom. It allows us to live from His victory. We can Grab for Gratitude by standing in Awe of our magnificent God. Our personal Awe and Gratitude to our loving Father flow together eternally.

Let’s Pray:

Gracious Heavenly Father, You are the Creator. You spoke, and our world began. Thank You for giving us life. Lead us to live in Your awe every minute of every day. For unto You all gratitude, praise, and indebtedness we owe. Remind us that Your love and wonder are a gift to us. We cannot earn Your love, for You have freely given us Your son to save us, sanctify us, and carry us. May we be alive in awe and gratitude of You all of our days.

In Your miraculous name we pray,

Amen

Questions to ponder:

1) Where can I see God’s Awe today?

2) Where have I seen God’s Awe in my past darkness?

3) What exact step can I take today to turn my Awe into Gratitude?