Wisdom From The Wilderness - Choose Gratitude (Daily Devotional)

Shalom and thank you for joining us once again for a series of Living Supernaturally. I hope you’ve been blessed by what we have been hearing and learning and for those of us who maybe going through a wilderness experience right now, it is a word in season for you.

Today, we are going to be looking at how we can choose gratitude during our times in the wilderness. When we are in the wilderness, as we see in the life of the Israelites, we can be tempted to grumble and complain. It is easy to focus only on the lack rather than what God has provided. However, as God has called us to a different mindset, He wants us to have gratitude, trust and contentment. We see through the Israelites that their journey was filled with complaints and grumbling over and over again. They grumbled against Moses and God while they were in the desert for those forty years. They grumbled about their situation, lack of food, too much of food, lack of water, same food and grumbled more. Their grumbling prevented that generation from seeing the promised land. God provided for their needs but they continued to grumble. Despite seeing the miracles of God, they constantly looked at what they didn’t have instead of remembering the faithfulness of God. So, when they were grumbling, they were just not grumbling against Aaron and Moses, but against God and His goodness. What did this grumbling achieve? It prevented them from fulfilling God’s mission and seeing themselves in to the promised land. This wisdom from their account, helps us to understand that we should choose gratitude instead. Philippians chapter 2, verses 14 to 15 reads, ‘Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.’ What happens when we do not grumble and choose gratitude over grumbling? We align our heart with His goodness and reflect His light to those around just like how the verse highlights for us. When we are grateful, we shift our focus from lack to abundance, from frustration to faith, from nothingness to abundance. When we choose gratitude, we also recognize the blessings of God in our wilderness. We open our eyes to see what God has for us; we are looking for the blessings of God. Gratitude in our difficult times helps us to trust in the ability of God. When we are grateful, it transforms us and our attitudes. So, gratitude is a choice that honors God and transforms our heart and makes our wilderness experience a blessed one, a one of learning, change and transformation. Let’s learn to thank and be grateful unto God even in the midst of our wilderness experiences. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father, we ask that we will have grateful hearts and hearts of thanksgiving. Take away grumbling, complaining, we ask you for forgiveness whenever we have been so small in our vision. We pray that you will empower us to look greater at you and to you, we ask this in your name, Amen

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