Recently, I went for a walk/jog and talked to God. We talked about grace. We talked about gratitude.

He told me how much He really wants us to be thankful. He really wants us to acknowledge His presence in our lives. He wants us to be aware of the many, many, many….MANY ways that he pours grace into our lives. Many of them we completely take for granted. We expect the grace of a beating heart, clean air to breathe, food when we’re hungry, rest when we’re tired, blue sky above our heads, wind blowing across our cheeks, pleasant weather, the little toes on our feet, sound in our ears, clear thinking, cute clothes to cover our bodies, the ability to work and produce income….

What effort on our part brought these blessings?

All of these things are gifts from the hands of a loving, generous, kind, and compassionate God. He delights in giving us (all humans) this grace.  Let’s be real, these things are barely the tip of the iceberg when we consider the millions of little and big things that take place in our life due to no effort on our part, and even when we seemed to have earned something, remember who put strength in our bodies and intelligence in our minds. We didn’t choose our parents. Where we were born, nor our personalities,  body types, or natural strengths. All were given through no effort of our own.

How often do we acknowledge these familiar blessings and thank the giver of all good gifts?

Grace makes our life worth living.

It makes life full, satisfying, pleasant and beautiful. Without grace… life would not be life. It would, in fact, be death–outer darkness. It would be hell.

No one is entitled to grace, and yet how many times have I complained when I haven’t received grace in some form? On a cloudy day, I complain that there is no sun. When my body hurts, I complain about the pain. When the air is polluted, I complain about a lack of clean air to breathe. Some how I think I’m entitled to these things, and because I think I’m entitled, I do not acknowledge the gift or the Giver of the Gifts. Lord forgive me!  Entitlement keeps us from fully enjoying the blessings in our lives. We  miss seeing his heart of love and generosity.  He is the only one who  deserves all the good that life has to offer.   And he gave it up –for us–so that we might receive benefits that we don’t deserve!

Gratitude is the cure for an attitude of entitlement.

Gratitude also positions us to receive more grace. Prayer releases more grace into our lives, for God offers more grace to the humble.   He has in mind to blow us away with abundant, overflowing measures of grace. He has an infinite amount to give.

 I pray that each of us will stop today to acknowledge some of the millions of ways that God has poured His grace into our lives, and humbly ask Him for more grace. He knows we need it. Apart from His grace, we can do NOTHING.

Challenge: spend at least 5 minutes today (and everyday) acknowledging the familiar blessings in your life and thanking God for them. Would you share some of them here?