Day Five

God’s beautiful message to you- His beloved.

A thankful attitude opens windows of heaven. Spiritual blessings fall freely onto you through those openings into eternity. Moreover, as you look up with a grateful heart, you get glimpses of Glory through those windows. You cannot yet live in heaven, but you can experience foretastes of your ultimate home.

Such samples of heavenly fare revive your hope. Thankfulness opens you up to these experiences, which then provide further reasons to be grateful. Thus your path becomes an upward spiral: ever increasing in gladness.

Thankfulness is not some sort of magic formula; it is the language of Love, which enables you to communicate intimately with Me. A thankful mind-set does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems. Instead, it rejoices in Me, your Savior, in the midst of trials and tribulations. I am your refuge and strength, an ever-present and well-proved help in trouble.

Many of you know about the tragic loss our family experienced in May 2018. No matter how difficult our circumstances, I can say with a pure heart that our family has never lost hope. The rainbow photo above was taken the day our nephew left the ICU and was placed in a regular room. He and our sister-in-law’s survival was an absolute miracle. We thanked God and continue to do so daily for their lives, for those who survived and prayed for complete healing. Rainbows were commonplace throughout 2018 and appeared to spill down from heaven as glorious light on very special occasions just like this day. As we walked to the parking deck, the view of this beautiful rainbow became the first of many that would seal our hope in our Heavenly Father. I still smile at the thought of a gracious God who gave us of glimpses of glory and hovered right over our nephews room. My friend, His promises are true and trustworthy and on this day we were reminded to find our hope in God alone. Hope that we still cling to today.

So I come as a way of encouragement today. This I know, giving thanks with a grateful heart in spite of your circumstances will sustain you through the darkest days of your lives. And every now and then, our loving and good Father encourages our hearts because He knows this will lead us to places of increasing gladness.

My grandfather used to say it this way: Being grateful isn’t hard. Forgetting to be grateful is what makes life hard. Thanks Papa Spell for your wisdom.

Today, I choose gratitude. I pray you will be encouraged to do so as well.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. —Ephesians 1:3

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. —Habakkuk 3:17–18

God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. —Psalm 46:1 amp