First Blog

During a particularly difficult semester of college, I caught a bad habit of complaining. Nothing was good–all I could see were the challenges, the “it shouldn’t be this way” comments, and a general displeasure for each day led by a countdown until the weeks were over of the semester. 

In the dorm I was living at, we had a tiny lobby after exiting the elevator to our floor. This was the place of the Bermuda Triangle–things randomly and anonymously showed up and equally disappeared once again into the hands of students looking for free things. It was there, as silly as this may be, that God spoke directly to my heart. 

One day, in particular, I walked onto my floor and found something peculiar in the “triangle”–a sign. But not just any sign; a small pink floral canvas print of the word gratitude. I felt God speak this important truth into my life. Since then, this canvas has followed me to every place I’ve lived to serve as a reminder of the life of gratitude I am called to live. 

And so are you. 

This is why this blog post compares a life of ungratefulness and of gratefulness–an intentional conversation that hopefully becomes a reminder of gratitude for you similar to my canvas piece for me. 

In Romans 1:21 (ESV) it says, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

This verse is clear that not being thankful leads to a hardened heart. This leads you from a relationship with Christ and instead to the things of this world that will, ultimately, never satisfy. 

When we look around us and only fixate on what we don’t have or wish we could change we open ourselves up to discontentment, comparison, bitterness, and resentment. Nothing will ever fully please, the joy and peace of the Lord is not able to be experienced, the heart can be filled with hardness due to anger and bitterness towards not having said thing(s), the mind is left unprotected (Philippians 4:8) against sinful thoughts, and distrust in God is harbored.

Not only this, ungrateful people live a life that is not full in their identity. When you know you are a child of God, you understand that God takes care of us (Matthew 6:25-34; Romans 8:32). When you willingly partake in comparison and complaining, you begin to lose the truth of who you are in God. Beyond this, when we fixate on the world around us and do not hold onto a heavenly perspective of who we are and what we have in Jesus Christ, we lose sight of the significance of our salvation. God owes us nothing and never has; yet, Jesus died on the cross to give you the gift of salvation. When we live a life of remembrance of the cross, we begin to hold onto the hope and joy of the Lord rather than fixate upon what we do not have the way we would wish. 

Lastly, an ungrateful Christian can experience a hindered prayer life. According to Colossians 4:25 (ESV), we are to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” The connection between prayer and thanksgiving is clear (not only here but in other verses such as Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 4:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, to reference a few). Furthermore, prayer is a sacrifice (Psalm 141:2). One way to sacrifice to the Lord is through thanksgiving, according to Psalm 107:21-22, which means our gratitude (or lack thereof) directly affects our prayers. 

While it’s beneficial to understand the effects of being ungrateful, I find it to be encouraging to see what gratitude does in our lives!

When Christians live a life in thanksgiving, one of the things that surprised me the most was that we are following God’s will (1 Thessalonians 5:18)–God’s purpose for our lives. When we are obedient to the will of God, that is when we can experience the promises of God. I notice when I am doing what I am supposed to be doing according to the Word, I find peace (Colossians 3:15), joy, and fulfillment–a cycle that propels me to be even more thankful to God.

Again coming to the idea of sacrifice and worship, praise and thanksgiving is just that (Hebrews 13:15). Even Job, the man who lost everything, found a way to praise and thank God. How much more can we when we have been given life through Christ? So, when we praise God in our gratitude, we are able to offer God a pure sacrifice that is according to His will. 

When God gives commandments and rules, it is always for a reason. In the case of gratitude, this is also true. According to Colossians 4:2, we are to be devoted to our prayer life. However, we are told to pray while being watchful and thankful. Our gratitude is a tool in our prayer life–a way that we can freely come to the Father and present our requests to Him (Philippians 4:6). 

If all this isn’t enough, in comparison to a life lacking gratitude, we can trust God and gain a heavenly perspective of His goodness and provision (Romans 8:28), which brings us back to our identity in Christ. 

The Bible has a lot to say about thanksgiving; and from what I’ve studied, gratitude is a way of life that is integral for every Christian to possess. So, how do we grow in this mindset? 

1. Count Your Blessings: Take the time to write a list out of everything you can think of to be thankful for. When you struggle to stay grateful, pull out the list, and make the conscious decision to read them out in a prayer of thanksgiving. 
2. Guard Your Tongue: We may be tempted, but we always have the choice. When we are tempted to complain, we can choose to guard our words. 
3. Open Your Heart: Open up to God in prayer about your struggles. He doesn’t judge or think less of you. He loves you and wants to help you grow. 
4. Read Your Bible: Take time to read about the gift you’ve been given when you are tempted to think you don’t have enough. 
5. Give Your Part: The best way to be grateful is to give to those who have a need. It always puts things in perspective for what you do have to be grateful for. 

This Thanksgiving, resolve to live a life in gratitude every day of your life–not simply for a holiday each year. I promise it will change your life.