Did you ever meet an ungrateful person? If you're like me, you tend to shy away from spending time with a person affected by ungratefulness. What a downer to hang with someone who does not see any blessings in life!
"Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NCV
God tells you how to be grateful. First of all, notice He first tell us to be joyful, not feel joyful. It's a decision. You decide to look for the joy no matter what the circumstances dictate.
When should we be grateful? Always! You can always be grateful about something!
This is a concept that the Lord cares a lot about. Look at these other passages:
"always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Eph. 5:20
This is not optional! God wouldn't ask you to do anything He won't empower you to do. There is always a reason to praise.
What do we give thanks about? Give praise in everything "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petitition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil. 4:6
(I know that I used this scripture in an earlier Word to Stand On, but it's just such an important concept!)
Be grateful in whatever you do: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Col. 3:17
How do we give thanks? We live in an attitude of continual prayer, talking to Him throughout our day. If we are in constant communication, it's easy to say "Thank You, Lord" whenever we see a blessing. If we wait until a set time of day to pray, memories of those little blessings will be lost.
Lastly, why do we give thanks? We are always thanking God because we trust Him, we believe that He has our best interest at heart. If you really believe that with all your heart, you can be thankful - no matter the circumstance.
Thanks for joining me today for Words to Stand On. Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts on gratitude!
encouraging words Jerri! I love the idea of continually thanking God throughout the day.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jerri - I LIVE with an ungrateful person. And I'm trying so hard to love him in spite of it! My dear son seems to fixate on the negative and cannot see the blessings. I'm trying to model gratitude to him, praying that God will mold his heart.
ReplyDeleteWhen things are going his way, he's very good at being 'happy,' but JOY in all circumstances seems to be a long way off. But not too far for God, and I'm trusting in HIM.
Thanks, again, for these Words to stand on!
Great post, Jerri...you are so right about it NOT being about feelings, but about our attitude....
ReplyDeleteJerry, this is absolute truth! Well, of course it is... it's Biblical! But I recently went through a time where I actually GAVE UP my Thanks Journal because I was trying to fill it in the morning when I first woke up, and other than having a new day handed to me, NOTHING else had happened yet! So I put it away until evening to fill in - but then I couldn't remember WHAT I was thankful for! (I mean a few things - but not enough to have different things EVERY DAY!) You don't wanna be thanking for the same things day after day after day... But anyway... I found that if I just kept a note in my pocket I could write them down as they happen! Thank you for that little bird that landed on my window... thank you for not letting me hit that deer... blah, blah, blah! But anyway - that is not what I started to tell you...
ReplyDeleteI got myself in TROUBLE yesterday because I would really LIKE to live my life 100% to the glory of God! I would! And yesterday morning in my prayer journal, I TOLD Him that I was living my day yesterday as a prayer to Him! Uh huh... I did. And you can imagine how that went, can't you! It wasn't an hour later Mom did something aggravating I became a screaming maniac! WHAT a prayer! I was praying alright! For FORGIVENESS! AGAIN!!! Sheeeesh....
.... so much for those love echoes... huh?
Wonderful Scriptures!!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a very ungrateful, negative person. I pray that the Lord will fill her heart. It may happen someday.
I am kind of thankful for her attitude because it made me the opposite in my attitude.
Have a beautiful Easter my friend!!!