Rewired by Gratitude

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, Rewired by Gratitude, was written by Monica LaRose. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Christina Costa noticed how much of the talk around facing cancer is dominated by the language of fighting.

She found that this metaphor quickly started to feel exhausting. She didn't want to spend over a year at war with her own body. Instead, what she found most helpful were daily practices of gratitude for the teams of professionals caring for her and for the ways her brain and body were showing healing. She experienced firsthand that no matter how difficult the struggle, practices of gratitude can help us resist oppression and wire our brains to help us build resilience.

Costa's powerful story reminded me that practicing gratitude isn't just something believers do out of duty. Although it's true that God deserves our gratitude, it's also profoundly good for us. When we lift up our hearts to say with the psalmist, praise the Lord my soul and forget not all his benefits, we're reminded of the countless ways God is at work, assuring us of forgiveness, working healing in our bodies and hearts, letting us experience love and compassion and countless good things in his creation. While not all suffering will find complete healing in this lifetime, our hearts can always be renewed by gratitude, for God's love is with us from everlasting to everlasting.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 103 verses 1 through 8 and verse 17. Praise the Lord my soul, all my inmost being praise his holy name. Praise the Lord my soul and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.

And now ending with verse 17. But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord's love is with those who fear him and his righteousness with their children's children. Let's pray. Father, when we're suffering, it can be hard to see things to be grateful for and even harder to acknowledge them. In every situation, please build in us a spirit of gratitude, thanking you and those around us who faithfully serve and care for our needs. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Brenna Holsquaw and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.