Daily Devotional #1,680

I had surgery a week ago…and I am thankful. I had a significant amount of my abdomen stitched up and yes, it  hurt. I’ve spent the last week in a corset and on pain medication. It wasn’t very much fun just laying around  and it was easy to get disheartened. But I ran across a story where the catch line was Satan talking about how  his greatest weapon was sowing seeds of discouragement. And told a visitor that they were pretty successful in  any heart except those hearts that were grateful. I thought about that and started thinking about all the stuff I  was grateful for. Right now, I’m grateful that less than a week from surgery…I’m going to get to stand up and  preach in the church I belong to this morning! That may be more of a joy for me than the listeners, but I wasn’t  sure that would happen right after the surgery. I’m thankful for people who love me and have been praying for  me. I’m thankful that I don’t hurt as much as I did before. I’m thankful that the surgery will correct an ongoing  painful condition. And I’m thankful for my doctor and for his skill and willingness to work on me. I’m thankful  for my family and my church and my friends. I’m thankful that I had the luxury of being able to just lay around  and that in that time, God was doing some pretty good healing for me. I can’t wait for tomorrow. If I can  remember to be thankful for any of God’s blessings…I bet those seeds of discouragement will have a hard time  of rooting and growing in my heart and mind. I’m thankful that I’m forgiven and that I am loved and can  experience that love of this God of the Bible. I don’t know what kinds of things so many others are going  through. And I bet a lot of them are tougher than just having surgery. But I’m convinced that a grateful heart  can see through the haze of discouragement, gloominess and hurt. So, start this new day with thanksgiving and  let God build a thankful heart right where you are today. And you may just start looking at the future thinking  that it will indeed be a great big beautiful tomorrow! Here’s our Bible verse for today…  
 Colossians 4:2 NLT Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.  
 Remember, I’m praying for you today….  
PJ