Gratitude. It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Be thankful. But sometimes that’s easier said than done.
It’s easy to be thankful when things are going our way. When everybody is healthy, the bills are paid, the family is getting along, and life feels pretty good. But what about the other days? The days when something goes wrong. When someone disappoints us. When we’re worried about something we can’t control. When life just doesn’t look the way we thought it would.
Those are the days when gratitude becomes a choice.
Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Notice he doesn’t say to give thanks for everything. He says to give thanks in everything. There’s a difference. We don’t have to be thankful for the difficult things that happen. We don’t have to pretend something doesn’t hurt or act like everything is wonderful when it isn’t. But even in the middle of something hard, we can still look around and find something to be thankful for.
And when we start looking, it’s amazing what we notice. A phone call from a friend at just the right time. A beautiful sunrise. Someone making us laugh when we really needed it. A prayer that was answered. A prayer that wasn’t answered the way we wanted, but later we understood why. A family member. A good meal. A quiet morning. Another day God has given us.
Sometimes the things we take for granted are the very things someone else is praying for.
Gratitude has a way of changing our perspective. It doesn’t necessarily change what is happening around us, but it changes what is happening inside us. Instead of focusing on everything that is wrong, we begin noticing what is right. Instead of thinking about what we don’t have, we remember what we do have. Instead of worrying about what God hasn’t done yet, we remember all the things He has already done.
And before long, gratitude begins to overflow.
Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… And be thankful.”
I don’t think it’s an accident that peace and thankfulness are mentioned together.
It’s hard to be consumed with worry while we’re thanking God for His faithfulness. It’s hard to stay focused on what we’re missing when we start counting what we’ve been given. That doesn’t mean our problems disappear. It just means our problems don’t get to have all of our attention.
Paul and Silas give us a pretty incredible example of this. In Acts 16, they had been beaten and thrown into prison. And around midnight, what were they doing? Praying and singing hymns to God. I’m not sure singing would have been the first thing on my mind! But they chose to praise God right there in the middle of a terrible situation. And while they were praising Him, something happened. The prison shook, the doors opened, and their chains came loose.
But the best part of the story may be what happened next. Their praise didn’t just affect them. The jailer and his entire family came to know Christ. That’s overflow.
Our gratitude can affect the people around us. A thankful person brings something different into a room. They notice the good. They encourage people. They appreciate what others do. They don’t need everything to be perfect before they can find joy. And that kind of gratitude is contagious.
So maybe today we need to stop for just a minute and look around. What has God already given you? Who has He placed in your life? Where have you seen His faithfulness? What is something you have today that you once prayed for?
We may not be able to change everything happening in our lives today. But we can choose where we put our focus.And when we begin counting our blessings instead of our problems, something happens.
Gratitude fills the cup. And when God fills our cup, there’s always enough to overflow into the lives of others.
So today, find something to be thankful for. Then tell God. And maybe tell somebody else that you’re thankful for them, too. You never know who might need a little of your overflow today.
Shine, Shine, Shine!