The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:3
Today an anxious thought threatens to circle around and around in my mind, looking for a place to land. This flight of worry wasn’t even on my radar screen last week. Yet here it is, trying to control my mind and heart.
Worry either locks us into the past as we replay regret over and over again or it catapults us into the future to dwell on events yet to come. Either way, worry steals precious moments from the present. We’re too caught up in thoughts of the past or the future to fully live in the moment.
The anecdote to worry and anxiety is gratitude. When we take our horizontal focus off our worries of yesterday and tomorrow, we’re free to vertically focus on God in the here and now. When we abide with Jesus (see John 15), thoughts of gratitude chase thoughts of worry from our mind.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches here in the US, we often express what we’re thankful for. Thanksgiving isn’t just for one day. It’s an attitude for every day. When anxiety threatens to overtake us, if we turn our thoughts to what God has done for us and how grateful we are, we can experience reprieve from worry. When we literally count our blessings and park our mind on the positives, we can live in the present moment, free from the past and the future. Even when we are in a difficult season, we can still see God’s fingerprints in the details, little reminders that He is present with us.
Gratitude not only helps us refocus from negative thoughts to positive ones, it also replaces worry with joy. To live a joyous life is to live out of a grateful heart. When we look at what we have instead of what we have not, we can experience gratefulness. And in that gratitude, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 126:3, when we realize the great things God has done for us already, we are filled with joy. Gratitude and joy go hand-in-hand and send worry and anxiety packing. Gratitude crushes worry and creates joy.
Research has even shown that people who have an attitude of gratitude live longer, are happier and healthier, both physically and psychologically, and even experience less depression. They have better self-esteem and also have more compassion for others. They sleep better, too, when they are grateful. Gratitude multiplies itself into all nooks and crannies of our mind, body, and spirit when we practice it daily.
Sometimes writing down that for which we are grateful helps us focus on God’s faithfulness and His good gifts to us. Later we can look back on what we wrote and experience continued gratefulness. We can trust that the God who was faithful then is faithful now.
Even though the worrisome situation hasn’t yet been resolved, I am confident of this: God is bigger than this situation and He has already worked wonders. I can count, not only my blessings, but on God’s faithfulness to continue to do great things. With a grateful heart, I am filled with joy as I abide in Him. I can live in the present without being held hostage to the past or the future. I can say wholeheartedly that this is the day God has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).
Heavenly Father, as I focus my mind on You and not on worries, I thank You for what I have already, for what You have already done for me. Thank You for the joy that comes from abiding in You with a grateful heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Vettica Maggiore on the Amalfi Coast, Italy.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Today an anxious thought threatens to circle around and around in my mind, looking for a place to land. This flight of worry wasn’t even on my radar screen last week. Yet here it is, trying to control my mind and heart.
Worry either locks us into the past as we replay regret over and over again or it catapults us into the future to dwell on events yet to come. Either way, worry steals precious moments from the present. We’re too caught up in thoughts of the past or the future to fully live in the moment.
The anecdote to worry and anxiety is gratitude. When we take our horizontal focus off our worries of yesterday and tomorrow, we’re free to vertically focus on God in the here and now. When we abide with Jesus (see John 15), thoughts of gratitude chase thoughts of worry from our mind.
As Thanksgiving Day approaches here in the US, we often express what we’re thankful for. Thanksgiving isn’t just for one day. It’s an attitude for every day. When anxiety threatens to overtake us, if we turn our thoughts to what God has done for us and how grateful we are, we can experience reprieve from worry. When we literally count our blessings and park our mind on the positives, we can live in the present moment, free from the past and the future. Even when we are in a difficult season, we can still see God’s fingerprints in the details, little reminders that He is present with us.
Gratitude not only helps us refocus from negative thoughts to positive ones, it also replaces worry with joy. To live a joyous life is to live out of a grateful heart. When we look at what we have instead of what we have not, we can experience gratefulness. And in that gratitude, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 126:3, when we realize the great things God has done for us already, we are filled with joy. Gratitude and joy go hand-in-hand and send worry and anxiety packing. Gratitude crushes worry and creates joy.
Research has even shown that people who have an attitude of gratitude live longer, are happier and healthier, both physically and psychologically, and even experience less depression. They have better self-esteem and also have more compassion for others. They sleep better, too, when they are grateful. Gratitude multiplies itself into all nooks and crannies of our mind, body, and spirit when we practice it daily.
Sometimes writing down that for which we are grateful helps us focus on God’s faithfulness and His good gifts to us. Later we can look back on what we wrote and experience continued gratefulness. We can trust that the God who was faithful then is faithful now.
Even though the worrisome situation hasn’t yet been resolved, I am confident of this: God is bigger than this situation and He has already worked wonders. I can count, not only my blessings, but on God’s faithfulness to continue to do great things. With a grateful heart, I am filled with joy as I abide in Him. I can live in the present without being held hostage to the past or the future. I can say wholeheartedly that this is the day God has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).
Heavenly Father, as I focus my mind on You and not on worries, I thank You for what I have already, for what You have already done for me. Thank You for the joy that comes from abiding in You with a grateful heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Want to subscribe to future posts? Click here.
Text and photograph copyright © 2017 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Vettica Maggiore on the Amalfi Coast, Italy.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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