Life's Lessons (Part 3): Gripped By Gratitude
Photo Courtesy of Dex Ezekiel
THe gift
You’d expect life to be trending in a positive direction going into Thanksgiving Week, but things don’t always work out that way. Especially when you’re having one of those weeks where stuff just seems to keep piling up on you.
For instance, a couple nights ago I was feeling pretty burnt-out once dinner time came around. With 5 kids waiting for their food, I was making plates as fast as possible. I got everybody situated, except for the baby girl in the family.
She’s a 1-year old girl with a 6-year old appetite. The problem is, she has less than a handful of teeth, which means you have to chop everything into a million micro-sized pieces. As fate would have it, the plate got a little too close to the edge of the counter as I made the final cut.
Meaning, 999,999 pieces of food went flying across the kitchen.
By the grace of God, the kids avoided seeing dad lose his cool. Sometimes you’re just too spent to have anything left to lose.
Ironically enough, I’d planned ahead of time for this post to be about gratitude. But after a rough week, I kept thinking, “how am I supposed to write a post on gratitude”? Everything that came to mind seemed disingenuous & out-of-touch with the reality of so many people’s situations.
But that’s when God reminded me of something so important regarding gratitude. He reminded me that real gratitude has never been about a set of circumstances, it’s a state-of-mind.
It’s the God-given ability to recognize and appreciate all that He’s given you.
James 1:17 (MSG) tells us that “every good & perfect gift comes from God”, and that these gifts are “rivers of light”. That’s a perfect description of what it looks like when you embrace the gift of gratitude. It’s a river of light, filling you up like nothing else can. The question is, what’s keeping you from enjoying this good gift?
Truthfully, it can be impossible at times to identify what’s holding you back. But thankfully, humility can bring the things of God out of obscurity. When you humble yourself, God reveals Himself. He goes to work in a powerful way in your life. Choosing humility—
Leads to god-Given clarity.
Burdens & Blessings
bogged down by burdens
Maybe your experience has been on par with how mine’s been lately. Finding yourself bogged down by one thing after another. Caught up in the daily grind of life. And depending on your situation, you may not even have a legitimate Thanksgiving to look forward to this year.
It’s tough. It’s tough having a bad day, let alone going through a tough season of life. It’s hard not to become a prisoner to your circumstances; to just feel like you’re aimlessly searching for a blessing in life. But it’s times like these when we need to be reminded. Reminded that, although you may not always be able to change the outcome—
you can always change your outlook.
Even the most “circumstantially rich” people in the world can be impoverished in terms of gratitude. The most grateful people are often the ones who give thanks when there’s not a single reason to do so. They embrace the fact that you can give appreciation for anything, for anyone, at anytime.
Don’t be a prisoner to your circumstances. Let the burdens steer you back to Him. And never stop counting your blessings.
“When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings; money cannot buy your reward in heaven nor your home on high.”
Count Your Blessings | Johnson Oatman, Jr.
blinded by blessings
There’s a story in Luke 17:12-19 (MSG) where we find 10 men afflicted with the terrible disease of leprosy. As Jesus crosses through their town, all 10 of them begin desperately crying out to Him to heal their condition. Jesus does so & instructs them to “go show themselves to the priests” (as was customary during that time to validate that you’d been healed).
Although all 10 were restored, we’re told that “only one realized that he was healed…came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful.
He couldn’t thank Him enough.”
As strange as it sounds, sometimes we’re blinded by just how blessed we are. We’re so quick to become “those people”. The people who lose sight of just how good they have it. In the story, only one man remembered his affliction. One man didn’t take his situation for granted. He recognized his condition & responded with genuine appreciation.
When you know that the same hand that brought healing to this man, is the same hand that’s steered your own life, the only reasonable response is to—
Be the one.
unending gratitude
“You are richer than 93% of people.
Not in money, but in time. 108 billion people have lived throughout history. 93% of them are dead.
You have what every king and queen, every pharaoh and ruler, every CEO and celebrity of the past would give all their wealth for:
Today.” (3-2-1 Newsletter)
You have today. You have time. And what a blessing that is. The truth of the matter is, it’s not possible to always live with this level of clarity. We’re not always going to “get it right” in life. But thank God, we don’t have to.
When you know Jesus, then you know that He’s the only One who got it right. He didn’t do it to simply prove who He was, He did it on our behalf. He did it because He knew we never could.
God doesn’t want you to settle for some shallow, forced version of thankfulness. He wants you to really get it. To let the truth of His Son Jesus sink deep into your heart. To be so immersed & so gripped by Him, that your life becomes a story of—
unending gratitude.
Need An easy WAY TO maintain perspective?
Text the keyword tHINK to the number 77222.
you’ll receive one free text message each week there’s a new post (with a direct link to the post).
It’s that easy.
Prefer Email updates?
Enter your email address in the form below .
***If you chose to accept a relationship with Jesus for the first time (or you’re recommitting), You can also use this form to let me know.
I’d love to answer any questions you have, pray for you, or simply celebrate that decision.
Need more encouragement during the week?
Click here to follow our Facebook page. You’ll enjoy A variety of quotes, verses, & additional content.
Your part makes a difference:
every time you share the blog, you’re creating an opportunity for someone to be impacted by a Christ-Inspired message.
today’s Takeaways
Humility leads to god-Given Clarity.
you can always change your outlook.
Let your life story be a picture of unending gratitude.