Nena Arias | November 21, 2022
“An attitude of gratitude brings meaning to everyday experiences.”
(Nena Arias)
It is so important to cultivate an attitude of gratitude because it will literally improve your enjoyment of life. Spending some time each day reflecting on things that fill you with gratitude will bring you a whole new perspective of depth to your life. Believe it or not, even when times are tough, there is much to be grateful for. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” No matter how difficult this task may seem, it is totally doable because the Bible is full of hope, of God’s unshakable promises, and the sufficient reasons needed in order to give thanks in all things.
This means that we don’t wait to only express gratitude when we feel good or once a year when we are all sitting around a table filled with delicious food with family and friends on a specified calendar date. That will not create the gratitude virtue in us. Practice makes permanent. Being grateful and expressing it is something that we should make a habit in our daily life to share words of gratitude with your family, friends, and people at work starting now, and soon you will find that you are seeing things from a whole new perspective.
The goal of expressing gratitude even in tough times is a virtue that will enrich anyone’s life. This doesn’t mean that you trivialize trials and challenges, on the contrary, you extract the good that you can learn in all things. Once you get in the habit of focusing on gratitude the meaning you will find in all things will open a whole new impactful dimension and you will never look at anything through the same eyes again.
Sometimes it can be tough or seem trivial to be thankful for the little things, especially in hard times. But here’s the added dimension about thankfulness. Once we begin counting our blessings, we will be surprised to discover that we have plenty to be thankful for after all. It’s simply the change in perspective from dwelling on what we lack to focusing on what we do have.
The Bible teaches us to always cultivate an attitude of thankfulness. God’s true children are called to give thanks to God for everything—and not only to be thankful but to rejoice: “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:2). Counting our blessings and reading Bible verses about thankfulness to God has a way of filling us with hope. God’s Word and wisdom is a treasure trove in all things.
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11)
“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4-5)