Courtesy of AW2SL

Spiritual Binoculars

When it comes to cultivating gratitude, we need all the help we can get. You see, gratitude is the heart’s response to seeing and experiencing grace. As such, we must intentionally look for grace. Oftentimes, however, our selfishness distorts and blurs our heart-eyes. To see things in focus, we need Spiritual binoculars.

Once our focus shifts, it is amazing how things change! It is then that the real meaning of Thanksgiving dawns on us. We discover that the real feast of Thanksgiving is feasting for our souls instead of our tummies.

As we embark on the month of November and Thanksgiving approaches, let’s use our Spiritual binoculars and zero-in on feasting for our souls: God’s abounding, all-sufficient grace (2 Corinthians 9:8). It would be sad to rush towards the Thanksgiving Day celebration having barely reflected on gratitude and only coming away with full tummies instead of a full spirit. We also need our Spiritual binoculars to zero-in on those around us that need grace, forgiveness and love.

Start now and use your spiritual binoculars to help you increase your souls thanksgiving appetite.

Below are some ideas on how you can get started:

Make your Debt of Gratitude Bigger Instead of Smaller!

John Piper puts it this way “the greatest Christian is the one who reaches the finish line with the most debt to God.” Christ paid your debt of sin and delights in giving you everything freely forevermore! A place in Heaven! Wow!

Baste in God’s Word

 Memorize a scripture and keep your heart and soul basting in the Bible. Share this verse with your family throughout the month and on Thanksgiving. Take time to open up about how it has personally changed you.

Learn from grateful examples.

No one has been more helpful to me in both example and the nitty-gritty of daily cultivating gratitude than my father-in-law. At over 90 years old he is still working for the Lord and travels around the world to encourage those who are in ministry in the poorest parts of the country. Everyday, he intentionally cultivates gratitude by thanking the Lord for the day He has given him…never taking it for granted. His Love for the Lord is contagious. He is my Hero.

Being Thankful Even In the Midst of Your Suffering.

Over a decade ago I lost my only child. Being thankful in all circumstances is challenging. It can be very hard to feel grateful in the midst of profound pain. But nothing is too difficult for God to redeem into something unspeakably beautiful. I have experienced the amazing grace of God that has resulted in the radical liberation of gratitude.

Finding Joy Within the Thanksgiving Spread.

In cultivating our own gratitude, we don’t want to neglect the joy and need of spreading the gracious news to those who need to hear!

I encourage you to carve out time this week to cultivate gratitude by looking at and tasting the grace of God in Christ and the thousands of gifts (even painful ones) that flow to us through Christ every single day. And let the feast of Thanksgiving mainly be about using those Spiritual binoculars to focus in on filling up your Soul.

Blessings,

Sandra