December 5, 2020
An Attitude of Gratitude Is Your Best State of Mind
It’s been a while since I’ve put any thoughts down on paper, because there’s so much to say, and yet, so often, I really don’t know what to say. I’ve lived through a lot of periods of modern American history since 1949, but I’m not sure I’ve lived through as much negativity and fear as I have in the past 10 months.
2 Timothy 1:7: tells us, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
This promise is to people who are born again of God’s spirit, and yet I find it very difficult to claim at times. I’m working on it, but it can still be difficult. One of my biggest challenges is working on not fearing their fear. The fact of the matter is obviously that there are a lot more people who do not work this verse than there are that do. They will unknowingly transfer their fears to us, not realizing the power that fear has on the mind.
Fear does not come from God, it comes from the things of the world. What does come from God is power, love and a sound mind. It takes a sound mind to deal with the things one has to deal with, not only now but at any time.
We will always be dealing with the effects of other people’s fears. The ONLY way to combat that is to put on the things that bring power, love and a sound mind and that is only found in God’s wonderful Word!
Proverbs 29:25: tells us, “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
I learned this a long time ago in a class on the Bible that also taught me that fear defeats the promises of God. One of the biggest reasons we read the Bible and listen to it being taught is so that we can claim God’s promises. If fear is an impediment to claiming God’s promises, we need to work on warding off fear. Unfortunately, it’s not a one time deal. I think we’ve all learned that this has to be done daily, like eating or any other function of life.
We have to protect and strengthen our minds as well as our bodies.
Jeremiah 15:16: says, “Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:…”
Jeremiah got it. He understood the spiritual battle. We as believers are always in a spiritual battle, and there are times when it is especially intense. This year has been one of those times. It’s given me time to reflect on the fact that God is ultimately in charge. And if, for no other reason, I am so glad that I can speak in tongues and make intercession as Romans 8:26, 27 talks about.
The man healed in the beginning of Acts 3 had to ward off fear and discouragement every day of his life up to that point because he was born crippled. He kept with it and he believed to be healed even growing up like that. The healing brought quite a bit of drama with it because the Devil didn’t like the power of God moving.
Many years ago a song came out that I made my own when things became especially challenging for me. It’s called “It’s Gotta Be God”. There is a short verse in it that has always been my go-to verse. It reads:
“When your heart is heavy, and your thoughts are less than kind, an attitude of gratitude is your best state of mind. Just count your many blessings and God’s perfect peace you will find.”
It still continues to be my go-to verse. You won’t hear a lot of it today, but amongst those of us who are born again of God’s spirit, I really think that an attitude of gratitude is a great state of mind. Looking forward to the return of Christ, and until then, looking forward to being with those members of the Body of Christ.
Funglimpses and all! Thanks for reading. Respectfully submitted. Will Grove