The Power of Gratitude in a Christian's Life
Gratitude is more than just an offhand remark. Biblical gratitude recognizes an exchange of value.
"I was in need..., and you supplied."
Genuine gratitude creates a shift in the receiver's heart. Not of poverty or neediness, but of appreciation.
Even if the need was a drink of water. Or a quarter for the carts at Aldi. Or someone giving you their place in line.
But what happens when we truly appreciate the greatness of the Lord's gifts to us? What shift takes place then?
I watched my husband Richard, during his cancer treatment, treat doctors, nurses, and techs with incredible gratefulness. And in return, they loved taking care of him. They loved him.
And watching him taught me how to be more kind, and grateful. Instead of just trying to get things done.
Biblical Examples of Gratitude
For great Bible stories on gratitude, the story of the 10 lepers in Luke 17 is the most obvious to me.
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Here in this moment, we see that the 10th leper's gratitude unlocked something deeper. When Jesus says, "Your faith has made you well", the word He uses is the Greek word, sozo. And that word means redemption, deliverance, freedom.
The leper went on from "just" being made well physically to experiencing spiritual healing, too.
Gratitude seems to be a key for a more satisfying spiritual walk, so how do we do that?
Overcoming Challenges to Gratitude
Why do we struggle to be grateful-truly grateful-every day?
Well, I think part of the reason is that we live in a society that wants to make us feel like we're missing something? That if we don't have just the right kind of house, or car, or spouse, or kids - we're a failure. We're flooded with images of everyone's best day, when we're sitting at home trying to get off the couch, brushing potato chip crumbs off our chest.
Prices are high. We're scared of running out of money before payday. We hope we'll GET a payday!
And so when you feel like you are lacking what you need, it can be hard to feel grateful about anything.
How to Cultivate Gratitude Daily
Just search the internet and you'll find lots of gratitude journals, checklists, resources and programs. Shoot, even I have some in my store. But it doesn't have to be hard or complicated.
The greatest lesson I learned was from a friend named Maria Elena Duron. And here's what she did.
Every day - on Facebook - she would post 5 things she was grateful for.
That's it.
And it spurred me to do the same thing in my journal. And THIS Lovely is the little known habit that helps us cultivate a grateful heart.
Simple things. Almost daily.
Food
Coffee
My children and grandchildren
My Jeep
My relationship with God
Developing this easy gratitude practice will plant seeds in your heart to express more gratitude throughout the day. And gratitude changes everything.
Living with a Grateful Heart
The children of Israel teach us a huge lesson about grumbling and complaining. Exodus 16:1-3 (NKJV) shares a bit of the story...
And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Just 2 months out of 400 years of slavery and they say it would have been better to die in Egypt, than be free!
WHAT THE HECK!?!
Oh, but wait... don't we do the same thing? Once we get a bit of relief, we start complaining again?
What does the Bible have to say about this?
It would be nice if we were just grateful people. But the Bible seems to indicate we have to PRACTICE gratitude and DEVELOP A HEART of gratitude. In our natural state, our heart is wicked, self-serving, and ungrateful. In fact, the Bible tells us that one of the signs of the end times is that we will become even MORE ungrateful.
As Christians, practicing gratitude toward the Lord, and each other, has to become a discipline. After all, Jesus said the world will know we are HIS because of our LOVE for each other.
So today, who can you thank? Maybe, along with your list of 5 gratitudes, you can create of list of people to reach out to by phone, or mail, or messenger. And just say, "thank you."
And while you're at it, remember to thank God for all His mercies. He is worthy.
Imagine waking up each day with a heart full of thanks, seeing life through a new lens of God's goodness and love.
Learn to Cultivate Gratitude in this workshop and do just that!
If you're ready to experience deeper peace, greater hope, and a renewed sense of connection with God, this is the workshop for you!
