An attitude of gratitude
The astonishing conquering power of gratitude!
Astonishing conquering power!
There was a moment many years ago when for the very first time I realized that I had a permanent noise in my ear – a noise that shouldn’t be there. It was quite an alarming moment. My first reaction was one of extreme anxiety and panic. I remember thinking, “I cannot live like this.” My daddy had lived for many years with ringing in his ears and I knew his doctor had told him that the only treatment available carried serious risk with it. Daddy was told to call if he got to the point to where he wanted to shoot himself, and they would try the treatment. What a horrible prognosis!! Daddy’s experience happened many, many years ago, but as far as I know, there is still no real treatment for tinnitus. So I was horrified at the idea of having to live with it.
It’s funny how some things can be so indelibly stamped into our memories like that moment was for me. I was in the floor praying and everything around me was silent when I realized there was a noise in my ear that was not going away. The idea of never, ever, ever again being able to experience silence was extremely traumatic for me. I am one of those people who loves solitude. It is in solitude that my batteries recharge. It is in solitude that I can keep the cares of the world at bay. And it is in solitude that I can most clearly hear the voice of God. The idea of never again experiencing complete and totally silent solitude was unnerving.
I love solitude!
Yes, I saw a doctor, and, yes, I was told there was no cure. I remember telling my sweet husband, Tony, that I could not live with the noise in my ear. And of course, he calmly, lovingly assured me that not only could I, but I would. So I continued my journey through life with mild tinnitus in one ear. As the weeks passed, the tinnitus did of course worsen – but thankfully that was a slow process. And amazingly – according to my doctor – I had no hearing loss in that ear. God had so graciously allowed me to keep my hearing.
Then along came Meniere’s disease. This took my ear problems to a whole new level! Along with all of its other horrible symptoms, the disease also robs your hearing. Suddenly my “good” ear was experiencing loud “static”, popping, and all sorts of other weird noises. Voices sounded like bumble bees and all sounds were distorted. Now this was seriously frightening! Of course, once again I was told there was no cure. I knew I had to find a way to cope or the anxiety would ruin my life
Voices sounded like bees.
As always, God in His goodness made a way. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Well, if it is God’s will for me, I can know that it is good for me, right? So when the noises would become distractive or frightening, I would tell myself that it was just the voice of God reminding me that He is there. Not only there, but also totally in control of my life. The noises would serve as my reminder to acknowledge His Presence – which of course was always there all the time anyway. I found it very comforting to acknowledge Him and express gratitude for all that He has done for me. He has done much!!
Psalm 92:1a says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord”. So I started expressing thanks for everything I did have. Almost miraculously, that one thing removed the anxiety about what I did not have. I do believe it is impossible to be experiencing anxiety and gratitude at the same time. I learned that when the anxiety would try to rear its ugly head, all I had to do was focus on giving thanks. Talk about a mighty conqueror!!
Follow the directions!
My go-to thought became: “I’m so thankful that I can still hear”. Even though my other ear had tinnitus, the hearing remained perfect. I learned to recognize that fact as a bountiful gift from God. I would start to concentrate on the sounds that I was hearing at that moment. Maybe it would be birds singing, or my children talking, or music, or car engines, or people’s voices, or dogs barking, or the air conditioner running, or … You get the idea. While concentrating on what I could hear, my brain would lose focus of all the other “noise” that I was hearing. I would continue to give thanks for everything else that I could think of. The blessings list is inexhaustible.
God is unfailingly faithful to give us directions to stay in a place of peace! However, it is up to us to follow those directions. If you are struggling with circumstances that are undesirable, sit down and make a list of the things you have that are desirable. Use your list regularly to express thanks for the things you do have, and choose verses and thoughts to be your immediate response to anxiety about the circumstance. Matthew Henry said, “No care or grief should take away God’s word out of our minds, or hinder the comfort it bestows. There is no situation on earth in which a believer has not cause to be thankful.” Well said! It is truly amazing how a thankful heart changes our whole perspective and helps guide us to where we want to be – on “The Blessing Road”. See you out there! 🙂
GUARD RAIL: Live with an attitude of gratitude!
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18