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Being grateful
Why are the simple things in life so difficult for us to do? I mean the small things, like….. being grateful. Is it because it may not be so simple? I'm sure when you were young, you heard your parents say something to you like, "be grateful for what you have. There are those in this world that would do anything for those Brussel Sprouts!" And I'm sure as a kid, if you were like me, your response would have been something like, "You might as well give it to them, cuz I'm not gonna eat them". Being grateful is not so easy. Why? Maybe because it requires us to be happy with what we have been given rather than what we wanted.
I recall, when my wife and I lived in Florida we had some severe hurricanes come through the area. We lived in the northern part of Florida so by the time the storms came they had very much decreased in severity. However this one year we did loose power for several days. As it was in the middle of the summer, as you could imagine, it got very hot with no air conditioning. As we dealt with our loss of power sitting in the heat, I recall getting upset at the fact I couldn't turn on my air conditioning. Then it hit me. We had heard about those who were further south of us where the storms came through as category 3 and 4 strength, and reduced their homes to a pile of rubble. So here I am whinning and complaining about not being able to turn on my air conditioner when I just heard of these people that lost their home and some possibly their lives. I said to myself, Be Quiet! Who do you think you are complaining like this?
The lesson of being grateful was a hard one for me to learn that day. Yes, there will always be those that are in worse shape than you. Those that will have greater needs than you so… be grateful.
I am grateful for what someone in my life has done for me. This person is one who I unfortunately did not have the privilege of meeting or even seeing from a distance. When He was here amongst us, I wasn't even born. This person, I'm sure you have figured out by now, is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Being grateful is also knowing how to love. How to be loved. How to show our love for others. I believe when Jesus said 'Love one another', He covered a multitude of things for us to learn. Being grateful also shows a loving, compassionate heart. It shows a loving response to whoever it is that is giving you something, or doing something for you. It was the Lord's teachings in love that also shows us that by being grateful, we can learn to "Love one another" correctly.
Being grateful! It's not easy is it? We can get so caught up in our daily worries that we just loose these simple teachings from God's word. For an example in the book of Philippians, in chapter 4, vs. 6 & 7 it reads:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".
There's a key phrase in there "by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving" Thanks giving. There's that reference to being grateful again.
There are many references and stories of gratefulness in scripture. One in particular which shows a contrast to our selfishness and God's mercy (which we should always be grateful for) is the story of Jonah. I'm sure your familiar with the story. God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh. Instead he went to another city of Tarshish. For this God 'awakened' Jonah's gratefulness by causing him to spend three days and three nights in the belly of a fish. Jonah finally prayed to God and in his anguish gave thanks and showed his gratitude to God;
But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." Jon. 2:9
Sometimes our gratefulness shows itself only when we are in need or in trouble. As it was for Jonah. The story continues and tells us that he finally did what God told him to do. His purpose was to go to Nineveh to tell them that the wrath of God was to come upon them for their wickedness. When the people heard this they were afraid, turned from their evil ways and showed their gratification to God. For this God showed His loving grace and did not destroy them. Jonah was upset at this because he felt they deserved to be destroyed.
Jonah then went out and sat in the shade under a plant that God had provided for him to keep out the effects of the burning sun. Scripture tells us in chapter 4 that Jonah was grateful for the shade the plant provided. Again, we see a show of gratitude because one's immediate needs are being met. When God made the plant wither away, this caused Jonah to be affected by the heat which he again saw as an imposition he had to endure. It got so bad for him, he wished he were dead. It seems Jonah's gratefulness was short lived. Much like us when things don't always go our way. God's response was;
"Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" Jon. 4:9
Jonah's response was; ...... "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!" From being upset that the people of Nineveh were not destroyed and the suffering from the heat he had to endure, Jonah was in despair. He forgot all bout any of the good things God had done for him because he concentrated on his immediate situation. However, once again God's patience and gracious response was;
"But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a
night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty
thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left-and much livestock?" Jon. 4:10
Jonah couldn't see that his selfishness outweighed his gratefulness toward God. Only when his immediate needs were met was he grateful. We all go through this problem more often than not. Our showing of gratefulness regardless of our present circumstances is a necessary attribute we all need to learn to conquer.
It is especially important that we show our gratification in our prayers to God. There are times when I pray, and I'm sure you do this too, we tend to say things like "Thank you Lord for everything today and … I have this problem, please help with it… or Lord please let me get this thing or that thing. Somehow it always seems to get back to our needs. But I am learning now. So sometimes my prayers go like this;
Father, I ask nothing for myself today. I come to you and just want to thank you for everything you have given me today. Thank you for my continued undeserved blessings. Thank you for providing me what I need to survive. Thank you for my salvation through the efforts of your Son, Jesus Christ. But most of all Lord, thank you.............................. for just being you!
I read a wonderful saying by a German Philosopher and writer by the name of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing which reads;
"A single grateful thought raised to Heaven is the most perfect prayer"
So, the next time you feel a negative response to an issue in your life coming on, stop and think about the 'what ifs', What if this or that happened, would I be worse off? Then….........just be grateful!
Why are the simple things in life so difficult for us to do? I mean the small things, like….. being grateful. Is it because it may not be so simple? I'm sure when you were young, you heard your parents say something to you like, "be grateful for what you have. There are those in this world that would do anything for those Brussel Sprouts!" And I'm sure as a kid, if you were like me, your response would have been something like, "You might as well give it to them, cuz I'm not gonna eat them". Being grateful is not so easy. Why? Maybe because it requires us to be happy with what we have been given rather than what we wanted.
I recall, when my wife and I lived in Florida we had some severe hurricanes come through the area. We lived in the northern part of Florida so by the time the storms came they had very much decreased in severity. However this one year we did loose power for several days. As it was in the middle of the summer, as you could imagine, it got very hot with no air conditioning. As we dealt with our loss of power sitting in the heat, I recall getting upset at the fact I couldn't turn on my air conditioning. Then it hit me. We had heard about those who were further south of us where the storms came through as category 3 and 4 strength, and reduced their homes to a pile of rubble. So here I am whinning and complaining about not being able to turn on my air conditioner when I just heard of these people that lost their home and some possibly their lives. I said to myself, Be Quiet! Who do you think you are complaining like this?
The lesson of being grateful was a hard one for me to learn that day. Yes, there will always be those that are in worse shape than you. Those that will have greater needs than you so… be grateful.
I am grateful for what someone in my life has done for me. This person is one who I unfortunately did not have the privilege of meeting or even seeing from a distance. When He was here amongst us, I wasn't even born. This person, I'm sure you have figured out by now, is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Being grateful is also knowing how to love. How to be loved. How to show our love for others. I believe when Jesus said 'Love one another', He covered a multitude of things for us to learn. Being grateful also shows a loving, compassionate heart. It shows a loving response to whoever it is that is giving you something, or doing something for you. It was the Lord's teachings in love that also shows us that by being grateful, we can learn to "Love one another" correctly.
Being grateful! It's not easy is it? We can get so caught up in our daily worries that we just loose these simple teachings from God's word. For an example in the book of Philippians, in chapter 4, vs. 6 & 7 it reads:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".
There's a key phrase in there "by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving" Thanks giving. There's that reference to being grateful again.
There are many references and stories of gratefulness in scripture. One in particular which shows a contrast to our selfishness and God's mercy (which we should always be grateful for) is the story of Jonah. I'm sure your familiar with the story. God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh. Instead he went to another city of Tarshish. For this God 'awakened' Jonah's gratefulness by causing him to spend three days and three nights in the belly of a fish. Jonah finally prayed to God and in his anguish gave thanks and showed his gratitude to God;
But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD." Jon. 2:9
Sometimes our gratefulness shows itself only when we are in need or in trouble. As it was for Jonah. The story continues and tells us that he finally did what God told him to do. His purpose was to go to Nineveh to tell them that the wrath of God was to come upon them for their wickedness. When the people heard this they were afraid, turned from their evil ways and showed their gratification to God. For this God showed His loving grace and did not destroy them. Jonah was upset at this because he felt they deserved to be destroyed.
Jonah then went out and sat in the shade under a plant that God had provided for him to keep out the effects of the burning sun. Scripture tells us in chapter 4 that Jonah was grateful for the shade the plant provided. Again, we see a show of gratitude because one's immediate needs are being met. When God made the plant wither away, this caused Jonah to be affected by the heat which he again saw as an imposition he had to endure. It got so bad for him, he wished he were dead. It seems Jonah's gratefulness was short lived. Much like us when things don't always go our way. God's response was;
"Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?" Jon. 4:9
Jonah's response was; ...... "It is right for me to be angry, even to death!" From being upset that the people of Nineveh were not destroyed and the suffering from the heat he had to endure, Jonah was in despair. He forgot all bout any of the good things God had done for him because he concentrated on his immediate situation. However, once again God's patience and gracious response was;
"But the LORD said, "You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a
night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty
thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left-and much livestock?" Jon. 4:10
Jonah couldn't see that his selfishness outweighed his gratefulness toward God. Only when his immediate needs were met was he grateful. We all go through this problem more often than not. Our showing of gratefulness regardless of our present circumstances is a necessary attribute we all need to learn to conquer.
It is especially important that we show our gratification in our prayers to God. There are times when I pray, and I'm sure you do this too, we tend to say things like "Thank you Lord for everything today and … I have this problem, please help with it… or Lord please let me get this thing or that thing. Somehow it always seems to get back to our needs. But I am learning now. So sometimes my prayers go like this;
Father, I ask nothing for myself today. I come to you and just want to thank you for everything you have given me today. Thank you for my continued undeserved blessings. Thank you for providing me what I need to survive. Thank you for my salvation through the efforts of your Son, Jesus Christ. But most of all Lord, thank you.............................. for just being you!
I read a wonderful saying by a German Philosopher and writer by the name of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing which reads;
"A single grateful thought raised to Heaven is the most perfect prayer"
So, the next time you feel a negative response to an issue in your life coming on, stop and think about the 'what ifs', What if this or that happened, would I be worse off? Then….........just be grateful!
We need to be grateful. For each day, God shows us simple beauty. That which is here today... and gone tomorrow.