What does the bible say about Gratitude?

Gratitude is a word used to express thankfulness and praise. The Bible teaches us about the power of having a grateful heart. Having a grateful heart helps us develop the fruits of the spirit that the Apostle Paul talks about in Galatians.

Galatians 5: 22-23(ERV) says, But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person's life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

To show biblical gratitude is to show kindness and grace to others. It means to receive God’s goodness and then let his goodness come out from you to bless others as you have been blessed.

EXAMPLES OF GRATITUDE IN THE BIBLE

King David showed a lot of gratitude while writing the book of Psalms. Even when he was at his lowest point(murdering a man and committing adultery), he still always repented and thanked God for his forgiveness.

Hannah was married to a man who had two wives. The other wife could have children and she taunted Hannah because Hannah could not have children. After promising to God that if she was to have a son she would give him to the church for service, God gave her Samuel. She was extremely grateful and she did as she promised and gave Samuel to the church to serve.

The apostle Paul is another good example. Paul used to persecute Christians until one day God showed him what he was doing wrong. Paul’s heart changed towards Christians and he became humble and grateful for what God had shown him. And through the many trials(being shipwrecked, beaten, and put in prison), Paul continued to show his gratitude towards God for all he had done for him.

7 BIBLE VERSES ON GRATITUDE

I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalms 7: 17

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalms 118: 29

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3: 15

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3: 17

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Ephesians 1: 16-17

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalms 100: 4

GOD WANTS US TO BE GRATEFUL

It is easy to thank God when things are going well in our lives. But God wants us to be grateful in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5: 18 says, Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Friend, I know this is hard to do. But I find that once I start to thank God for the not-so-good things in my life I start to develop a positive mindset which helps me to see things from a different perspective. It also helps to ask God to show us a different perspective on the situation. So we can see the situation from his eyes and not our own.

It will get easier the more we thank him. Then when the big things come our way we are more prepared. Not to say that we will be happy if someone we love was diagnosed with cancer. But we will be able to cope better.

A great way to start thanking God for the things in your life is to start a gratitude journal. I did one for 30 days and it made me see some things that I often take for granted. For instance, I was thankful for having clean bed sheets. Having a washer and dryer to clean them and a bed to put them on. It’s the little things like that that we need to take the time and be grateful for.

CONCLUSION

Practice thanking God for all that he has done. Take it a step further as I did and thank God for the struggles as well. No one wants to be thankful for the hard times in their life but God allows hardships to shape and mold us. If it feels weird to thank God for the struggles thank him for the work he is doing in your heart. Ethier way we need to be grateful for God’s control in our lives. He is the one who can see our future and knows what is best for us.

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