Head-Heart-Hands — The Emotional Side of Christianity - Thursday
Today’s Verse
Colossians 3:15-16
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (NIV)
I want you to walk through a little exercise with me. You will need a piece of paper and a pen to write some things down. When you get to each question, write down the first things you think of. Don’t take too much time to dawdle over them—there are no right or wrong answers. Ready? Ok, let’s go.
Think of and write down three things that are blue.
Think of and write down three things that are in your house.
Think of and write down the names of three co-workers.
Think of and write down three family members.
Think of and write down three things you can smell.
Think of and write down three animals.
Got all of those? Look over your list. How do you feel about the things you wrote down? Are they mostly things and people you feel positively about? Do you feel negatively about any of them? Maybe you wrote down that one coworker drives you crazy, or you thought of that terrible smell coming from the back of your fridge. Now, look over the list you just created again. You have 18 words looking back up at you.
Go through each word you wrote down and pray a prayer of gratitude centered around that word. “Even the smell in the back of my fridge?” Yes. Even that rotten smell. If there is a stench emanating from your fridge, it means you didn't have to worry about going hungry this week. That chili sitting in the back going rancid could only have gotten to this point if you had enough meals every other day since you made it. Thank the Lord for providing you with your daily bread.
Once you have finished your prayers of gratitude, finish off with a prayer of worship. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:3)
REFLECTION
Paul calls us to be thankful and worship in gratitude. Sometimes, it’s hard to make the time and space to be intentionally thankful for the big and the little things. Hopefully, this exercise was able to help you reflect and refocus your thoughts on Christ and all He has done for us!