A Heart Of Gratitude

#gratitude, Faith, Musings 2 Minutes

Instead of a ‘bad day‘, would you rather have no day at all?

See how Jesus rebukes our prioritizing material things more than life itself:

Matthew 6:25 KJV
[25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

… Including food. It takes life for food to be relevant not vice versa. Our soul is more vital to God than things we get.

Life means opportunity, another chance, expectations and desires met, miracles are possible, fellowship is available…Only life guarantees these!

A thankful heart knows this!

In the cold realities of life can emerge complexities. Whilst some are seeking the fruit of the womb, for others, the challenge they have are their kids. To some they need a wife. For others, that’s exactly what their problem is; their wives are all the trouble they have. It goes on and on…

Shame on the murmurer; he doesn’t think deeply. He grumbles at life’s challenges, he “curses” life without saying it. He despises God’s greatest blessing.

The truth is we can’t pray, trust God and His power and still grumble, despising His blessings. This is because the Christ life plants contentment in us.

1 Timothy 6
[6] But godliness with contentment is great gain.
8] And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

We are yet blessed, despite what we don’t have yet.

True, midnight hours aren’t good times: You probably lost your job, your debts are rising, creditors getting awry, things getting worse even as you are encouraging others. Yet, you can’t murmur. There are blessings to count, and be thankful for even as you expect more.

It’s interesting to note that Jesus’ two most notable miracles were done amidst thanksgiving despite the untoward situations: Supplying abundance of bread in the desert and raising Lazarus from the dead after 4 days.

There are things to be grateful for, friends to be thankful for, family to rejoice over, things yes, things you look at, good health, and life itself!

Next time you feel like throwing a pity party and give in to despair, look around and count your blessings, one by one and you will be amazed how Much the Lord Has Done for You!

It’s my birthday come Saturday and I can’t help but be thankful for the gift of life, for salvation, for the blessings of a loving family and wonderful friends, for the victories won, for the benefits I presently enjoy and greater things God has in store for me!

I see God at work in the multitude of desires, hopes and aspirations. You should too.

” Little things (you) the Lord do for me……are great things.”

P. S. This article is culled from a post from Pastor Segun Onayinka.

©Ibukun

Published by ayansolaibukun

Faith, Relationships, Family, Reviews, Creative Writing

Published

51 thoughts on “A Heart Of Gratitude”

  2. A thankful heart is a grateful heart. To breath another breathe is to experience the marvelous unspeakable grace of God. You won’t realize how much one breathe is important until you miss one.

    Thanks for the great reminder, gratitude is always a wonderful strategy to keep your mind and eyes fixed on God.

    Happy birthday in advance my dear mentor, Ayansola 😊.

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    1. Absolutely Marie! You hit the nail on the head. Those seemingly little things are things that count the most. While we look forward to what God will do, we cannot but be grateful for those he has done.

      Thank you so much for reading and leaving this profound comment. Thanks too for the birthday wishes. So grateful.

      By the way, you should know I get to learn a great deal of things from your writings. So I’m wondering who is the mentor here.

      P.S. I tried commenting on your most recent post a number of times but my comment kept bouncing back.

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      1. You’re more than welcome, Ayansola. Always a pleasure 😊.

        Great post by the way, I enjoyed reading it.

        Mentor/Mentee: You can’t get out of this, just accept it. It is an honor to have you as around (and as a mentor, too😁).

        It means the mentor is doing a great job. That’s why the mentee is improving each time.

        Thank you for letting me know, I think there’s a problem with my email that links to it (I am having trouble with it, and I’m not receiving any email for the past few days).

        I appreciate your support and thoughtful insights and comments as always.

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        1. 😁 Thank you for doing a great job of hyping me and trying to box me into a corner. We are co-mentors 😎

          I thought as much. It must be a glitch in the algorithm or something. I’ll keep trying though.

          It’s always my pleasure, Marie!

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          1. Haha 😄. Awesome 👌 finally 🙌, we’re getting somewhere. Not bad for a start I’ll take it 😉.

            You most welcome my dear mentor.

            You might be right, I really don’t know what’s happening but I’ll look into to it this weekend. Thank you for your continuous support 🙏. Have a wonderful night 🌙 😊.

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  3. Even in the midst of challenges, there’s still a lot to be thankful for. Very apt reminder.
    A very happy early birthday to you Ibukun. May this new year bring forth all your heart desires and more. May the Lord bless and shine His face upon you. Wishing you many many more years!

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  4. A thankful heart is content. Ingratitude makes it impossible for us to see what we already have. Going to bed at night and waking up in the morning is a miracle and we should live the whole day being thankful for life. There is nothing more precious than life itself. We only need to breathe and be thankful, every other thing becomes easy. God’s presence surpasses all we cry for. God is all we need. Thank you Ayan for this, in case we have gone back to crying for this or that. It’s timely for me especially 🤗

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  5. Having a grateful heart is a blessing and allows us to see things from God’s perspective. Instead of being focused on what is wrong, we can be thankful for what is right. Thanks for the encouragement. Happy Birthday! 🎉

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  7. “We are yet blessed, despite what we don’t have yet.” It is hard to be discontent when we practice being grateful for what we do have. It is not possible to count our blessings and complain at the same time either. Thank you for reminding us of this, Ayansola. Also, a very happy belated birthday to you dear brother. May you have many more returns 🙏🏽

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  8. Wonderfull post. this correlates to my latest post. In times like this we just need to be gratefull knowing that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

    Happy belated birthday something to be gratefull for:)

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  9. Thank you for this post. Really, it’s easy to look on the bad side, forgetting the wonderful gift of life and other blessings that we have. This indicates ingratitide.
    Instead one should, like the lyrics of a song go, “Count your blessings name them one by one, and it would surprise you what the LORD has done”.

    A Belated Happy Birthday to you! May your heart always be full of gratitude. Amen.

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  11. Pingback: Giving Thanks by Giving Back Day #6 | Revbruce's Blog

  15. Thank you so much for the reminder.
    Indeed when you are greatful you create room for more.
    What a great article. Am reading it once again and am so much blessed

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  16. This feels like you were talking to me. Sometimes I forget and complain but yes I quickly remind myself that my today is much better than yesterday. It keeps getting better and better and I can only be grateful while I expect more. Once God gives me life, that alone should turn into songs of praise.

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    1. ☺️Pamela! So good to hear from you.

      True, it’s been a while I dropped something. Been trying to put things in perspective. But I’ll get back to writing ways sooner than you think.

      I’m alive and well. Taking it a day at a time. Staying safe too.

      Thanks a lot for your thoughtfulness. Feels good to be remembered.

      How are you doing too?

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  18. Hi Ayansola
    I keep coming to check if you have new posts or not, but I dont find any. Hope you are okay. I miss reading your encouraging and relatable posts

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    1. Thank you, Shazzy! So good to hear from you. It gladdens my heart to know that I’m being thought of.

      You are right. I’ve been absent from this platform for a while. But it’s not for the worse. I’m very well. Just been trying to sort things out. I’ll be back to writing ways sooner than you think. I promise.

      How are doing too?

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      1. Am so glad to hear that you are still okay. I’ll be waiting right here with anticipation

        Yes am doing great…it hasnt been easy but God is still God and there’s none like Him. His will is far much greater than what we are going through

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        1. You are right, Shazzy. Sometimes, life’s journey can be bumpy and rough. But we serve a good and loving father who sees us through the troubles and bring us to a desirable end.

          I pray that God grants all your heart desires. He meets your needs and enlarges your coast.

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          1. Thank you so much friend
            That truly means a lot and encouraging. We serve the Almighty father who’s got the whole world in His hands.
            I receive the blessing spoken over me in Jesus powerful name.

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