Gratitude Beyond Grievances
STAFF DEVOTIONAL BY Hannah James | Financial Specialist for Pathways Professional Counseling, a sister ministry of ABCH
What does it look like for believers of Jesus Christ to show gratitude in the midst of grievances, trials, or hardships in our lives? This is something that bothers me because I know that though there are simple answers, knowing these answers doesn’t make it simple to exude genuine gratitude from your heart and soul.
We can know 1 Thessalonians 5:18—“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”—But does knowing this make it any easier to actually do?
To watch a child be told to say, “Thank you,” when they don’t want to, or worse, to maybe be the adult that has to tell them to do this, is a painful experience to watch or be a part of. To me, it’s cringe-worthy because you are watching this child who thinks they have no need to be thankful, cross their arms, grit their teeth, and with great difficulty say, “Thank you.”
So often, I feel like as believers we do this. We go through difficulties in life, such as a loss of a family member, pay cuts, or sickness, and we feel the Spirit prompting us to hold a posture of thanksgiving through it all, but since we aren’t really thankful for those things, we too cross our arms and grit our teeth like a child would. There has to be a switch inside of us to want to feel gratitude in the midst of difficulties or obstacles.
When we truly want to be grateful, even if we may not be quite ready to see God's will in our current circumstances, it presents a great opportunity to ask Him to show us what He has for us and to teach us how to express gratitude.
Maybe it is easier for you to see what you are grateful for, or maybe you are acutely aware of what you are NOT grateful for. Whatever you are recognizing about yourself, sit with that feeling and ask God to give you the essence of gratitude to be carried out now, and into this next year.