The Power of Gratitude
We live in a world of never enough.
It’s as though everything in life is designed to make us feel that we do not have enough and that we will never be enough.
I believe that the way out of this never-enough lifestyle is gratitude.
Paul says in Philippians 4:12,
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
If we can learn to be content and grateful in every season then we will live better and fuller lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says:
“Give thanks in all circumstances because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus…”
We very easily give thanks in our good circumstances but do we give thanks in all of them, even the bad? How can Paul really say that we must give thanks in every circumstance?
What is Paul’s secret to being content in any and every situation? The next verse shows us: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”
Having a heart of gratitude and learning to be content stems from the profound and necessary reality of knowing Jesus. It is Jesus, and Him alone, who gives us the strength to shift our focus off of ourselves and our circumstances and onto our all-powerful God. Being grateful is more than just feeling grateful, it is something that we have to practise in each and every moment of our daily lives.
Especially in today’s society, we are naturally wired to focus on what’s wrong more than what’s right. Gratitude requires us to act in the opposite way.
Below are two helpful points that I believe make up the Beginner’s Course in Gratitude:
1. Gratitude in Plenty:
The first place we learn gratitude is in times of plenty when things are going well.
God commanded Moses to speak to the Israelites, who’d just been set free from slavery and were on their way to the promised land. He had to remind them to be thankful when they were satisfied, otherwise, they would become forget all that God had done. It’s so easy to forget Him when life is easy because we become so self-sufficient in times of plenty.
Thanking God in good times keeps us humble, reminding us that everything we have is from God, not ourselves.
To have a posture of gratitude, remind yourself daily of James 1:16:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.”
The most basic act of gratitude is saying thank you for what He has already given us but we also need to learn gratitude in times of want.
2. Gratitude in Want
I don’t want to only thank God when He is blessing me. I need to learn to actively and intentionally show gratitude in difficult times.
David, in one of his darkest hours, writes psalm 23.
He says “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
He is declaring from the depths of his soul that he lacks nothing because the Lord is his shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. When I’ve lost my job, when I’m fighting cancer or other illness, when my marriage is on the rocks, when I feel like I am empty, I lack nothing. I lack nothing because I have Him! He watches over me, He reigns above me, and he cares for me. He is everything!
David continues, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow death I will fear no evil, for your rod and your staff they comfort me”
Jesus is with me. Jesus is with you.
The beautiful phrase, “even though”, teaches us how to thank God in every season, even difficult ones. We need to decide what kind of Christians we are going to be. Are we only going to thank Him for what He’s given us, or are we going to thank Him even though we are sick, lonely, depressed, out of work, and the list goes on!
We need to remind ourselves not only to thank Him for His provision but for His presence. Gratitude is not about what He gives, but about who He is.
This is mature gratitude.
Gratitude, in its maturity, is linked to praise. We need to praise Him in the presence of our enemies, we need to praise Him in times of pain, we simply need to praise Him. Praise brings His power and breakthrough. Praising God is a powerful weapon of warfare because it releases His power into our circumstances.
There might be chains holding you, but God wants to break your chains and set you free as you learn to praise Him.
You may be in a deep, dark valley facing many giants and you can’t think of one good reason to thank Him. I want to encourage you that there will always be a reason to give thanks to God because of the greatest gift he has given you: salvation.
He saved us from the power of death and sin.
We were once far away from God but now through the death of Christ, we are brought near into His very presence, holy and blameless, without a single fault. We can always find a reason to be thankful no matter what we’re going through.
Like Jesus, in the face of suffering, we can say, ‘Lord, thank you for what you’ve already done and won for me through the cross. Thank you for what you’re doing right now in the middle of the storm. Thank you for what you’re going to do, breakthrough is coming!’
We can give thanks in all circumstances, in plenty and in want.
Let’s live grateful lives and shine His light in a world that so desperately needs him.