The Scripture ~Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Romans 2:5
The Spiritual Focus ~ Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. Melody Beattie
Breath Prayer ~ God I praise you, God I worship you.
The Devotion ~
If thankfulness is the prelude to gratitude, and gratitude is an outcome, what then is our response? Our response is to praise and worship God. It is not that God needs our praise and worship it is that we experience God in such a way that we cannot help but be grateful and praise God. We praise God not just for what God HAS done, what God IS doing, but for what God has PROMISED for the future, therein lies our hope.
Worship is one way we can express our gratitude. Worship can be loud and expressive, can be formal and it can be contemplative. When we come to our mats we settle in our breath and become aware of God’s presence, our gratitude for God’s promised presence renews our hope, encourages our faith and we praise God. It can be that simple. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to guide the journey from our heart to God’s.
Different faith traditions have different ways to ways to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Two commonly known ways are through baptism and Holy Communion. Both are pure gifts of the Spirit from God. Somehow we have confused that idea with law, or “have to’s” when in truth it is an invitation to participate. To participate with the saints who have gone before us, the saints that surround us and to participate in the future saints. That is our hope in Christ and for that we are grateful.
