Next Right Thanks

Welcome to February! We’re memorizing a verse every week for the whole year, and we’ve got one month down already. Here’s our fifth verse of the year:

You got this.

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.

Psalm 119:2

Moving from one right thing to the next is a great habit to establish. But it’s possible to do the right things with the wrong attitudes.

The next level is moving from one thanks to the next.

I was told a few years ago that I have control over my attitude. The conversation had been centered around poor old me and some trivial circumstance I found myself in.

I’d surely received this advice before, but it sank in deeply like a turn of a knife into the heart of my problem that day. And the problem was this: despite how blessed I have been, I find ways to focus on the things that I wish were different because I think they’re the missing links to my complete fulfillment.

If only _____, then I’d be okay.

This is why I turned into a vapid shell of myself in addiction. I believed the lie that I was what mattered. And I made the choices to pursue satisfaction at any cost.

Now in sobriety and relative spiritual health, the same diseased thinking sneaks up on me. In disguise. And it starts with unease. With wishful thinking. With un-gratitude.

I must take hold of my attitude and prayerfully consider the myriad ways I ought to be thankful for my life, my circumstances, my friendships, my family.

Instead of moving from one bitter take to the next, can I practice being thankful before I’m feeling thankful?

God, strengthen me to bend my attitude back toward your will for me—giving thanks in all circumstances.