The Power of a Thankful Heart

We have so much to be grateful for. Every day that we are alive, we have a reason to give thanks. However, the reality is that sometimes the constant demands, struggles and worries do more to create a spirit of defeat than a heart of thanks. We can forget, in the midst of the busyness to pause, take a deep breath, and give God thanks for all that He has done and will continue to do in our lives. 

Sometimes it really does seem like a sacrifice to offer up praise and thanksgiving to God. We’re struggling. We’re busy. We’re weary. Maybe we feel like He really doesn’t care about what is troubling us. Our lives feel like they are spiraling out of control and we’re saying, “God I just don’t see the point.”

But, here’s what can make an eternal difference. We have the choice, to daily give God thanks. With a heart of thanksgiving, we realize that no matter what life throws at us, God doesn’t only work to change our circumstances and help us through our problems. He does more. Much more. He also changes our hearts. His power, through hearts of gratitude and focused minds on Him, releases the grip our struggles have over us.

God’s word is filled to the brim with many reminders of how powerful and essential a thankful heart is in this world. 

 The Power of a grateful heart – 5 things it can do:

  1. It gets our eyes off of ourselves and back onto God.
  2. It reminds us that God is the giver of all good gifts. We were never intended to be fully self-sufficient in this life. A grateful heart reminds us that God is our Provider.
  3. A heart of gratitude leaves no room for complaining, for it is impossible to be truly thankful and be filled with negativity at the same time.
  4. It helps us recognize we have so much to be thankful for, even all of the little things, like sunrises, laughter and food at our table.
  5. It opens up the door for continued blessings.  

20 verses of thanks from God’s word:

“O Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”  Ps. 95:1-3

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Ps. 100:4-5

“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” Ps. 118:29

“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Ps. 9:1

“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” Ps. 7:17

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Col. 2:7

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Col. 3:15

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Col. 4:2

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil 4:6

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Ps. 103:1-5

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thess. 5:18

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Ps. 107:1

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Eph. 5:20

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Ps. 28:7

“I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.” Ps. 69:30

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; …” Ps. 136:1-5

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:28-29

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 2 Cor. 9:15

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” Rev. 11:17

 

I encourage you to meditate on these verses on a regular basis and focus on giving God thanks in ALL circumstances. I know that your life will change for the better because of your thankful heart. 

Praying many blessings over you in this season of thankfulness and joy.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

With love, Liah


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Grace and Gold

When I was thirteen, I accidentally broke a very expensive piece of my parents’ pottery. The artist had just passed away, so the value shot up just in time for my rough housing to take it back down. My parents were unhappy, to say the least. When I received the dad-repaired pottery bowl as a wedding gift eight years later, I kept it on my coffee table to centerpiece my history as a clumsy, rough-housing teenager.

Not long after I was gifted the pottery, an incomplete redecorating job combined with a pitch black room presented the perfect opportunity for my misplaced step to smash the pottery bowl, this time separating it into three large pieces.

I was devastated, taken back to thirteen in painful waves, reliving the first time I told my parents I had fractured the value of their pottery collection. I couldn’t bring myself to admit that history had repeated itself, so my husband came up with a plan. “The pottery broke,” he told Dad, never offering a culprit or any explanation for the new cracks. I was praying to be in the clear.

To our surprise, Dad was elated. “How perfect is God’s timing? I was just reading about an old repair process for broken pottery like this!”

As I battled the urge to proudly confess my role in God’s timing, Dad explained a bizarre new word: Kintsugi, he described, is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with glue and gold. Instead of throwing away the shattered piece, the artist repairs them. Instead of hiding the repairs, the artist highlights them. No pieces thrown away, no imperfections left uncovered.

I presented kintsugi as a metaphor to the High Point youth a couple weeks ago, asking them to list people from the Bible who illustrated a kintsugi-style life repair. Here are the answers we developed along with the attributes that qualified each person for the list:

  • Moses (frustration, insecurity, anger)
  • Gideon (doubt, insecurity)
  • David (envy, deception, self-gratification)
  • Jonah (prejudice, hypocrisy, disobedience)
  • Samaritan “woman at the well” (unfaithfulness, rejection)
  • Peter (impulsiveness, cowardice)
  • Saul/Paul (persecution, brutality)

This list is not comprehensive, of course, but it doesn’t take every story in the Bible for us to recognize cracks and weaknesses we’ve seen in ourselves. Thankfully we aren’t left alone to fall to those weaknesses!

While studying about the kintsugi process, I came across 2 Corinthians 12:9.

But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (NIV)

Boast about my weaknesses? Why would I do that? I am liberated, restored, and made strong.

Exactly.

In the same way that the focus of Kintsugi is the beautiful gold, not the cracks, the focus here is not on weakness; it is on God’s power, “My power is made perfect in weakness. . . . Christ’s power may rest on me.”

The cracks and jagged pieces you perceive in your life are not throwaways. They are areas that you need to let God piece together and cover with His strength and grace. What you can’t do on your own is what makes you ideal for what you are called to do. It’s an opportunity for God to do it all through you.

Gideon’s life is an excellent example of God’s power in our weakness. When God calls him to lead, Gideon responds, “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family” (Judges 6:15 NIV).

What did God said to that? Oh, I guess you’re right… I didn’t think of that. I should probably use someone stronger and more gifted in leadership than you. NO. God assures Gideon, “I will be with you” (Judges 6:16 NIV). He is telling Gideon that being the “least” is no limitation. Gideon’s weakness will not hinder God’s plan for his life but will instead make a no-questions statement that God won the victory. 

God chose you for the task, and He will do through you what you cannot do on your own. When you are weak, He is strong.

The kintsugi-ed pottery bowl now hangs in my house as a reminder:

  • With God, I am confident, likeable, capable, patient, faithful, obedient, and everything I need to be to accomplish His plan for my life.
  • God has repaired my shattered pieces, covered me with gold, and made me even more valuable.
  • God’s power is made all the more apparent through my weaknesses. They are a space for Him to fill with His strength and cover with His grace.

God’s grace is at work. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.


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Answered Prayers

Often people wonder how to get answered prayer. Have you ever been praying over a concern of yours for some time and thinking you should have seen bigger results by now? This has certainly happened to us during our years of following Christ! Over time we learned several important factors that have helped…

First, we realized sometimes results don’t come because of  asking the wrong request in prayer. James 4 talks about asking something of God amiss, or asking something for the wrong reasons. Sometimes we discovered years later after praying a prayer, that we really had no idea when we were facing an issue, what it was that we or someone else really needed. Often we humans think we need to give God some advice through prayer about how to best help our personal lives! Have you ever been there?

Some of the best prayers we can offer are praying and declaring God’s Word and His faithful promises over our situation. This allows Him to decide the best way to answer. Isaiah 55:11 says “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” 

Faith begins where the will of God is known. The will of God can be discovered by looking at Jesus’ ministry as well as looking at heaven. So as an example, we know from scripture that it is God’s will to save, to restore broken hearts, to heal sickness and disease, to provide, to have our children and family all serving God, and so on. 

One of our favorite prayers to pray regularly over our children and all of our amazing High Point Church family is Colossians 1:9-12. 

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. 

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.”

This scripture also touches on a second reason that prayers sometimes aren’t answered in the time frame we desire. Some things just require faith and patience! If this is the case, put a written scripture up in a place you will see it daily to remind yourself of God’s promise in your specific area of need. Also keep next to this first scripture promise, Hebrews 6:12. “…Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” 

Lastly, remember to keep praising by faith that you have your victory now, since the Word tells us “NOW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1. 

We praise God now for the victory promised in His Word, even before we see it with our natural eyes. We can boldly approach a His throne of grace and ask for help in our time of need! 

Praying for God’s wisdom and grace to abound in the your life! 

Have a supernatural September! 

Shaun & Amy


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The Friendship Reflection

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs 12:26

The saying, “Show me the ten people you hang around the most and I will show you where you will be in ten years,” is extremely accurate. The quality of your life, marriage and family will eventually become a reflection of the people you surround yourself with. Do you want to be successful in your walk with God, the best spouse and parent you can be, and fulfill the call of God on your life?

A large portion of achieving these valuable life treasures requires cultivating Christ-like friendships and being receptive to mutual accountability through those friendships. It also includes accepting and receiving insight and correction from authority figures and mentors that God places in our life. When we are receptive to our mentor’s instruction and have Christ-like friends, we will find ourselves increasingly walking in the promises of God. In doing this, we will greatly improve our relationships in the home and achieve greater levels of leadership in our place of work or ministry. 

Friendships are just what the word describes. A friend is like a ship. They either help carry us up stream or down steam. Their words and actions have a large impact on us, negative or positive. Do out friends talk about and focus on the good in their spouse? We will be more likely to think and talk about our spouse in a positive way. Do they find fault in their spouse? If we continue to spend time with them, we will eventually begin to find fault in our spouse. Words spoken by those we are close to eventually influence us, producing either good or bad fruit in our lives. It is wise to invest time with those realize they will eat the fruit of their lips; therefore, they speak with wisdom and are guarded in what they say. 

We as believers are to be like eagles. Isaiah 40:31 states, 

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

God wants us to soar above life’s circumstances. Our close friendships (or lack of Christ-like friendships) will greatly influence how we soar. 

 

Are your friendships helping you soar?

If they aren’t, we pray that God will send you Christ-like friendships that will last a lifetime. 

Blessings to you, 

Shaun & Amy


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Thinking on the Right Things

When Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Philippi, he encouraged them to choose to have Christ-like thoughts, stating:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise-worthy-meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

Paul understood the power in our thought-life. He knew when we meditate on good things, God’s peace is then established in our hearts and in our homes. This truth applies to every area of our lives, but let us take a close look at its impact on marriage. 

Most of us do not have any problem thinking good of our spouse when he or she is kind to us and doing the things we like them to do. The question to ask is – do we put this Scripture into operation in our lives when our spouse has not invested time with us or has not met our needs?

Notice Paul did not say, “Finally brethren, whatever things are a lie of the devil, whatever things are unkind, whatever things are unloving, whatever things are an evil report, if there is any immortality and anything worth condemning – meditate on these things.” No, Paul knew that these things are what a person naturally wants to do, so he purposefully instructed the church to meditate on the good because he knew that it would have to be an intentional effort on our part! 

Whatever we meditate on about others, good or bad, we will draw out more of that in their personality. You have heard the statement, “That person really knows how to bring out the best in me.” If we truly believe in someone, it will be demonstrated through our actions, words and even prayers for the person. 

In the month of July we highly encourage you to pay close attention to what you are meditating on about yourself and others, and as you do that, we truly believe your life and your relationships will change for the better! 

God bless you!

Shaun & Amy


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