In our daily life, it is so easy to find things to complain about. It can be something as inconvenient as traffic, things are getting too busy with work, or you found out you need to replace your AC in the middle of summer. When we find anything that gets in the way of our daily routine, we can find ourselves gripe and moan in the attitude of entitlement. But as Christians that have accepted Christ’s sacrifice, living in gratitude is so important. Not just because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. Our thanksgiving is worship to Him who is worthy.
What Is Gratitude?
Nowadays, I’ve been looking into the dictionary meaning of certain, common words. It’s not because I don’t know their meaning. But rather to have a clearer, detailed insight of the meaning of words that we casually use in our everyday speech. I find that it’s given me a different perspective on the verses that my eyes have glazed over in the past. Gratitude in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”
I always have stopped thinking that it just means “thankful”. I didn’t look at it in terms of the readiness to show appreciation for all the blessings that God has given. And I definitely didn’t think of it in terms of returning the kindness to God. In Psalms, we read that thanking is actually a type of offering that we can sacrifice.
Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation. - Psalm 50:23 (NIV)
So how can we live a life that is worth a sacrifice to our Holy Heavenly Father? What do we need to be aware of and change by His grace?
Living In Gratitude Means We Must Let Go Of The Past
When I think about what my default thought patterns are, I realize that they tend to be very negative. Despite knowing of God’s grace, a grace that we do not deserve, I am embarrassed to say that I am an unconsciously ungrateful person. I tend to think of what I don’t have, what I haven’t accomplished, and what’s missing in my life. I even often think about my mistakes, the awful choices I’ve made in the past, and how I wish to redo them. What do I get for these thought patterns? An often toxic view of my own self-worth, overlooking my accomplishments, and constantly beating myself up for things I’ve said or did.
I even thought that being tough on yourself was a good thing because it was supposed to motivate you more! But it only made me ungrateful. When we look for the negative things in life, we will surely find them in this fallen world. More importantly, how can we find God when we’re looking for anything that’s not of Him. Once we repent of our sins sincerely, God is gracious enough to forgive and remove our sins from as far as the east is from the west.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. - Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
After that, condemnation does not come from God. Being accused and chastised for your past mistakes constantly to put yourself down is not from our loving Father. We cannot be living in gratitude when these rotting seeds of the past hold us down. We need to get out of our own way and allow God to heal the wounds of the past. In fact, we need to allow God to make things news. That includes our own view of ourselves. It includes forgiving others and trusting God for His best in every situation.
Living In Gratitude Means We Must Be Intentional
If our thought patterns tend to be on the negative side, we need to be intentional with them. We need to re-train our brain from the negative Nancy way of defaulting to what’s wrong to be thankful. When we find ourselves complaining, we need to be conscious and immediately make a choice. We can choose to stay negative or we can choose by God’s grace that today is a day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Whether that’s because of the rain that waters the earth or the sun that’s giving life. It could even be for the car that we get to drive in traffic. In the seasons of waiting and even pruning, we have much to be thankful for.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. - Psalm 107:1 (NIV)
Gratefulness needs to be a part of us, despite our emotions. When we don’t feel grateful, that’s when it is a sacrifice. A sacrifice is an offering. Choosing to let go of that which we dearly hang on to, the satisfaction of complaining or defaulting to the comfort of our old ways, for the purpose of worshipping God is an offering. Living in gratitude is a choice that will challenge our comfort zone. But the ability to choose is a gift in itself that God gave us. We need to choose to live in gratitude because even in our worst of days we still have Jesus. Even if God decided that He will not give us another blessing (which He would not do because He’s a good Father), we still have the gift of salvation.
Let Us Pray
Heavenly Father, thank you for shedding light on this area of my life. I know my default thought patterns are so forgetful of the fact that you are always good. I repent for withholding my thanks, for complaining, and essentially being ungrateful for what you have provided me with. Continue to mold me and prune me to be the person that you call me to be. In Jesus’s name, I pray.
Recommendation
Knowing God starts with knowing His Word. If you don’t already own a Bible, there are many churches that give one for free. You can also download a YouVersion Bible App. Or if you’d like a physical copy, it can easily be found on amazon.