Ephesians 5:1-2

¹Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ²and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (NIV)

This past Sunday at church (NWBC), Pastor John Miller talked about “Giving Thanks with a Grateful Heart.”  A few things touched my heart, related to Ephesians 5:3-4,and later my own reflection of Ephesians 5:1-2.

John talked about making “a mental decision to live each day with a grateful heart,” and how God loves to hear us praying with gratitude and thankfulness, saying even the littlest detail. I usually think, well, God already knows what He has done! Why did I need to tell Him! Exactly! He wants to know how much I appreciate Him and all the blessings, every last little one.  In a human context, I know that when I do something nice for someone I would like to know that my good deed was appreciated! We are made in God’s image, so why wouldn’t He want to know too?

He also said that (this may not be exact, but the meaning is the same), “negative actions/thoughts and complaining cannot survive if you have a heart of thankfulness.” WOW. This is so true.  When I am not grateful for what God has done in my life, let alone my husband, I know I become negative and tend to give in to the easy way of dealing with situations by complaining and being involved in destructive behavior or even a destructive attitude.  Being intentional and praising God for the all the little and big blessings in my life keeps me from straying from Him.