Stuffed with Gratitude

Stuffed with Gratitude

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

I do pray that you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday! I am sure none of you ate until you were stuffed…lol. But I do hope that today (and everyday) you are overflowing with thankfulness.

I heard a message recently by Steven Furtick who serves as the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte. In the sermon, he made a very simple and yet profound statement. He said that whatever we magnify is what we will see. If we magnify our faults, or the shortcomings of others, we will continually see them. If we magnify what we lack or what is wrong in our lives and the world, at every turn we will see the stuff that depresses and stresses us out. On the other hand, if we magnify goodness, it will overtake us. If we magnify and make a BIG deal out of the ways that our loved ones and friends please us and make us happy, guess what, we will be overwhelmed with those things.

The lesson? Draw attention to what you want more of and take your mind and eyes off the stuff that you do not want in your life. I am not suggesting that we ignore our problems and simply wish them away. But rather, that we do not let our troubles, as bad as they may be, steal our joy and rob us of a grateful perspective. If we are not careful, we can find ourselves surrounded by blessings and yet be too consumed with bitterness, anger, frustration, or sadness to enjoy them. Don’t let this be you!

As we get ready to turn out hearts toward the Advent of Christ, let’s ready ourselves by focusing our minds on the One who is the greatest gift we could ever receive. Let’s gorge ourselves on gratitude. Let’s transform the world with thankfulness. Let’s start a pandemic of praise!

Loving and praying for you,

Pastor Danielle