Journal Entry ~ 02/08/19

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. - Colossians 2:6-7

God created us to be thankful - from the very beginning, we were created to worship and give Him thanks for all He has done. But ever since the fall, we have failed in our ability to express gratitude in a way that continually glorifies God. We aren't satisfied with what God has given us, and we want more. 

Ingratitude can be traced to the root of all our sin issues - our fear and anxiety, our depression, our pride, our greed, our anger - at the root of each of those sin issues is the sin of ingratitude. We are not thankful for what God has given us, and instead focus our eyes on what He has not given us, or we focus on what we want to change.  

We need to focus our eyes on all that He has blessed us with, and get our eyes off of all that is wrong with our lives. And that thankful attitude should grow from the never ending gratitude that He has saved us from an eternal death and separation from Him. Though we are undeserving because we spend the majority of our time complaining about how our lives could be better, He still chose to send His Son to die for our ungrateful hearts. Keeping our eyes fixed on that truth, that He loves us enough to give us another chance, is where we find the heart of gratitude that should permeate everything we do, say, and think. 

Imagine how God must view our complaining attitude about our jobs, our families, our financial problems after He sent His only Son to die on the cross for us. He sent His only son to die a painful death so that we could spend eternity with Him, and we focus on wanting a better job or wanting a difficult person to change. Forgive us, Father for our narrow focus and our selfish hearts. We love you, and we are eternally grateful for the lives you have given us. Guard our hearts from ingratitude, and keep our eyes focused on You. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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