One of my favorite movies to watch at Christmas time is It’s a Wonderful Life. There’s a scene where the main character finally breaks under all of life’s pressures, disappointments and broken dreams – all unrelated to his actions. He begins to have an attiTUDE with a capital “A”. He complains about everything, which causes him to contemplate suicide. Then after seeing what the world would be like if he never existed, he starts to be grateful for the very same things he was complaining about only hours earlier. His life circumstances hadn’t change one bit, but being grateful defeated that bad attitude.
This is why Scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Scripture never promises us a rose garden life by following Jesus. It does promise that as we focus on all the wonderful things Jesus has brought into our lives, we can defeat those bad days, even those caused by others.
There is a song we used to sing in service growing up called Count Your Blessings. It goes, Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one; And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by.
You and I are not God, nor the Savior. So, let your God lift your soul through remembering all the things going right in your life. Let your God be God. He’ll help get rid of the attiTUDE through gratitude.
S“E”t Free Nowww