Attitude of Gratitude by Alicia Briscoe

 Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.                                1 Thessalonians 5:18

Hello November or should I say Hello “Grateful” month! Have you notice how we get in the spirit of gratitude in November? It is amazing how we attribute an attitude of gratitude to November because of Thanksgiving.

Gratitude is an expression of thankfulness and praise. The Bible teaches about the power of having a grateful heart. It tells us to be thankful in all circumstances good and not so good. Also, it is a positive emotion that involves being thankful and appreciative and is associated with several mental and physical health benefits. When you experience gratitude, you feel grateful for something or someone in your life and respond with feelings of kindness, warmth, and other forms of generosity.

Gratitude honors God and it is His will for us. When we have a grateful heart, it develops our character positively. It produces kindness towards others, and it makes us feel good inside. Gratitude is the opposite of Grumbling or Complaining. When we have a grumbling heart, it hinders the development of our character. It produces a complaining spirit towards others and make us feel bad inside.

The Good News is that we can choose to be grateful or ungrateful. Ungratefulness leads to complaining. But there is a right way and a wrong way to complain which is constructive complaining or destructive complaining. Constructive Complaining leads you to seek Godly counsel and prayer which results in blessings. (See James 5:13-16) Destructive Complaining leads you to malicious speech seeking people to agree with your distorted opinions which keep you in a defeated state of mind.

We can live an attitude of gratitude in all circumstances. It starts with not conforming to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. (See Romans 12:2) Also, here are five ways I have been conscientious about and putting into practice.

  • 1.       Express appreciation to God
  • 2.       Express appreciation to/for others
  • 3.       For every negative comment about someone or something say something positive
  • 4.       Be intentional about expressing gratitude in all areas of your life from the big to the small
  • 5.       Be quick to change your perspective from grumbling/complaining to gratitude/thankfulness.

Remember this...It may seem impossible to do this when faced with impossible circumstances. We are not commanded to call evil good or to pretend that we love the hard things that happen to us, but we are commanded to thank God with an attitude of trust because “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). 



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