The Gratitude Project

The Gratitude Project is an attempt to shake loose the bonds of a consumer-driven, entitled life, and become a more thankful and centered person.  During the next 365 days I will be intentionally transforming myself (with lots of help) by finding new ways each day to be less self-centered and thankful.  Each month I am going to take on a bigger project to challenge myself.  I’ll be blogging about it the whole way.

Day 2

Last night I heard my youth group singing the Matt Redman song, “Blessed Be Your Name.”  That song has always been powerful to me.  I have really been trying to take the words to heart and make them my prayer to God:

Blessed Be Your Name in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name when I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back in praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be' blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say

You give and take away, you give and take away
My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name

I love that this song tells a faith story of looking to God in thankfulness and praise no matter what the circumstance.  It is easy for me to be thankful to God when I have just won the lottery, but it seems unnatural and difficult when I am sick.  But God is still God in every circumstance.  It is my position that has changed, not God’s.  I need to learn to be thankful to Him because of who He is, not for how I feel.

I thought that as I Christian, I should start out this whole endeavor by looking into some of what the Bible says about thankfulness.  Here is a little of what I found:

“I will give thanks to the Lord for His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.” -Psalm 7:17
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  His love endures forever.” -Psalm 118:1 & Psalm 136:1
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” -Phil 4:6

I am trying to think on these today.