Gratitude: Why It's Important!
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - Thessalonians 5:18
Gratitude
What is it? Many view the word as some old way the Bible expresses how you should be thankful, but it's much more then that. It's so relevant to today and seems to be an idea that has been lost in our generation. Some people today don't show the necessary appreciation for all they have or the success they've achieved. Yes, the success we may achieve is only possible when we work hard for what we want and have discipline, but we have to remember where that work ethic and discipline comes from. The Lord blesses us with the ability to work, with the ability to remain focused, and with the ability to get all the success from it. The Lord has a will and plan for everyone's life, so what comes of your life and the success you experience comes from his plan for you. So similar to when someone does something for us, we say "thank you", at least I would hope lol. So since, much, if not all things that we do is with God's help, with God's guidance we should give him his "thank you". Since he allows us to have these blessings and success, we could simply show acknowledgment for his hand in it all. Just a daily moment in the day when you just say "God, thank you" just to let him know that you appreciate what he's doing. The Lord loves us so much and wants to see the best for us, but it hurts him when we don't show that love back. An old hymn says "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him all creatures here below." We as his people need to thank him for all he does, because all we see around us is what his hand put forth.
It's Importance
When we remember to gives thanks, that also provides a sense of humility in all we do. Humility allows us to recognize our dependance on God and our ability to do what we do only through his work on us. I've heard a lot recently from people when they have success that "they got it out the mud", when they forget the fact that that grind and eventual success was only through the guidance and provision of God. All blessings come from God and nowhere else, as long as you aren't getting your success out of corruption, those new inpouring blessings are purely from God. If you try to take away the one in which it came from, the one from in which it came will quickly humble you to remind you of your beginnings. The Lord honors those who love him and give praise back to him. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Similar to how important it is to thank the people you know for what they do for you whether that be your parents, your peers, or your friends , we have to give that same thanks to God.
Encouragement
The Lord works for the good of his people. All he does for us is out of love and care and doesn't involve any harm towards us. When we make the choice to make God the main reason for our success the devil and all things evil have no place in it. The devil can't touch the blessings the Lord has in store for us, so walk in confidence that all things meant for you will come to you. When you are grateful, comparison is no longer an issue. Comparison becomes irrelevant because you are now so consumed with how grateful you are for what you have that you can't look at someone else's blessings in jealousy or disappointment. The amount of joy you will begin to feel through gratitude is nothing that can be explained. It takes the load of success and the constant desire for more at an instant that you may feel when you have the pressure of feeling like you're doing it on your own. The Lord allows us to rejoice in our blessings as he aligns new blessings for us that we aren't even aware of yet. Although my blog isn't huge yet, I've been so encouraged with how the Lord has used me already. He guided me to this point of making my business so I owe all my thanks to him for revealing this journey to me when the time was right, not a second too early. "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God." - Deuteronomy 28:2