Gratefulness: When It's Hard

This morning, our pastor preached a sermon about thankfulness, and one particular thought about thankfulness resonated with me like it never has before. It was a concept that was drawn from I Thessalonians 5:18, which says, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Now, this was not the first time that I had heard this verse, but two words really struck me: in everything. I say this because, in my mind, I thought that I was being thankful for everything that God had sent my way. However, knowing something in your head is totally different than believing it in your heart and living it every moment of your life. Through this truth, God began to convict me of areas of my life in which I was not exercising gratefulness. I would like to share these areas with you and challenge you to accept those areas that God may be prompting you to be grateful for in your life.

The first area in which God has impressed upon me is the area of friendships and relationships. I thought that I truly valued relationships, but I gained a new appreciation for them when my cousin passed away a couple weeks ago. Out of anyone in my life, I would never have expected that he would have been the one to pass away at this stage in his life. He was a very relational person, and touched many lives in the 22 years that he lived here. Relationships were a priority in his life. Are they a priority in your life? Don't get trapped in the mentality that says, I've got plenty of time to build relationships in life. First, I'll get my life started, and the I'll start building relationships and investing in the lives of others. Listen folks: we're not even entitled to live another minute! There's no guarantee that you'll wake up the next morning when you go to bed at night. You only have a limited amount of time and resources here on this earth. The question is, what are you going to do with that time and resources that will outlive you? Relationships are one of the only things in life that will last after a person passes away. Please, take your relationships seriously, especially the ones with your family. You can't know whether or not you will have another day to spend with them. Why not make the most of the time you currently do have?

A second area in which I would encourage you to be grateful is the area of personal inadequacies. This really impacted me because I am in the middle of a situation right now that feels out of my control. I really feel helpless and overwhelmed by the situation. However, it is in the middle of these situations that God is able to demonstrate his grace. This is because He is not able to help us if we don't have any inadequacies. He would love to help us, but He can't until we come to the point that we realize we can't handle this situation on our own. I'm so inspired by what Paul said in II Corinthians 12:9, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." It is a helpless feeling when we arrive at this spot, but we all must learn to realize, like Paul, that this is exactly the place where Christ can display his power through our lives.

So, my challenge to y'all is this: pick two or three things that you wouldn't normally feel grateful for, or that you don't want to be grateful for, and look for ways to be thankful for them. And, if you can't think of anything else, at least these situations will allow you to look forward to heaven all the more!