I'm A Liar
and three little words to help you replace what you say to yourself and others
Gratitude makes such a huge difference in daily life. Thankfulness blesses you and those people you count as blessings. An attitude of gratitude changes the things, situations, and people you focus on and alters your future. Gratitude is a powerful tool to use against pride and selfishness. Placing your desires above all else is common to man but destructive. Fighting back against our selfish nature is maturing in the Christian faith but it isn’t easy.
What you focus on and nurture in your heart leaks out of your mouth.
Non-stop complaining is a character flaw that can become a spiritual problem. A constant drip of complaint leaking from your mouth ruins your day. It can also ruin the day for those around you. We have so much to be grateful for every day, yet it can become too easy to slip into a litany of dissatisfaction with everyone and everything if we fail to count our blessings.
What if we focus more on what we have than what we don’t?
What if we learn to be content in any situation instead of ruminating on how to escape our lives?
Could we learn to love situations and people even if they are imperfect?
Nothing on this side of heaven is perfect so we have a wonderful opportunity to learn, grow, and practice gratitude daily. I’m not saying any of this is easy. There are seasons of life we all walk through that are deeply painful, isolating, harmful to our mental health, and can even have us doubting our faith. But, we are still given gifts by a good God. The sun came up today. You have air to breathe. I’d place the safe bet you have someone in your life who cares that you’re around. I’m sure there’s someone, somewhere, who wants you in their life. I understand hardship, sacrifice, and pain. I live with a mix of it every day but I also recognize I have so much for which I can be grateful. God generously blessed me with His Son, my family, my friends, and the work I love. Is my life perfect? No! Far from it. But, I choose to see my blessings. I focus on those and not on areas I feel are lacking. It is a daily, often moment-to-moment sanctification. It is a lifelong purifying practice of choosing and declaring.
The phrase yet I will is found in many Biblical passages. I love it because it is a choice and a declaration. You choose something amid less-than-desirable circumstances and make that decision known aloud. That declaration might be to yourself on repeat. It works that way for me. I speak life over myself and my outward circumstances. I remind myself of the truth no matter what my eyes might see at that moment in time. I often will declare that truth to my husband and together we agree with the truth of God’s word.
I promise you that believing in God’s word and declaring that truth over yourself and others will strengthen your faith.
