Attitude

"Attitude is little thing that makes a big difference." (Winston Churchill)

These words were included in one of the daily devotionals that I read today. I was struck by the challenge that they offered to me and I believe that this same challenge will make its way into your thought process. 

The Spirit has been dealing with my heart over the past several weeks concerning the need for "praise" to be a vital part of my everyday relationship with Christ. Is it possible that we have relegated "praise" to a time slot on Sunday morning when we sit with our church family in a corporate worship service? We may deny that statement as being true when we first read it but we do have to realize that our "attitude" in many cases may determine the amount of praise that we offer to God. It may have been John Maxwell who coined the phrase, "Live your life with an attitude of gratitude." 

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment and admit that we all have days when our attitude is running low on gratitude. The daily challenges of life have a way of "draining away" portions of our gratitude. Your mail contains the arrival of an unexpected bill. One of the kids is sick and they need to see a Doctor which more than likely will require medicine to treat the illness. You have a flat tire or a dead battery. Your company will not be issuing any pay raises for the coming year and they are eliminating any type of Christmas bonus. The preacher's sermon was boring and you almost feel asleep during the invitation. I could continue but I better stop now and pull the hose away before I drain you dry of any attitude of gratitude that you may still possess. 

It is during those times that we all struggle to remember the good things of life. We fail to remember the miles that we have driven on that tire without any blowouts. We fail to remember the number of times that the battery started our automobile. We fail to remember that we do have a job that is paying the bills and allowing us to live a comfortable life in comparison to a large portion of the world. We fail to remember that the preacher normally does an awesome job sharing the Word of God and even preachers have "off days." We fail to remember the health of our child and realize that hospitals contain children who fight a deadly disease on a daily basis. 

Psalm 107:8, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!" (KJV)