Having an Attitude of Gratitude

In any part of your day or week, are you exposed to negative people?

You know the ones I’m talking about – truly pessimistic people who not only gripe about the glass being half empty, but also about it being a mug and not a tumbler! Charlie Brown “good griefers,” Eor, “the sky is fallingers” – worry warts who make it their mission in life to level any mountain of good circumstance with the realities of the valley below. How do you feel when you are around negative people for a length of time? Do you feel your shoulders tighten and your facial expressions droop? Why do people like that affect us in such a manner? It all has to do with gratitude. People who have a difficult time being gracious and extending grace to others have an even more difficult time being positive about life – no matter the circumstance.

The only remedy to this ailment lies in having an attitude of gratitude. The ancients were no strangers to difficulty and oppression. Many of them spent their entire lives wandering in deserts or under the yoke of slavery and captivity; but as we see in the Psalms and in the prayers of the Patriarchs, they still found a way to carry on by remembering God’s deliverance of them. Still yet, those who carried forth the news of the Gospel found themselves imprisoned or even murdered. And yet, how did these people of God keep from naval-gazing all the time?-- By learning to praise. By praising, we find the inherent good in all peoples and situations, and we transcend the muck of circumstance. By reflecting on the past, we remember all of the great blessings and wonderful events of our life that have served to weave a beautiful tapestry of God’s faithfulness. For Paul and Silas, imprisonment could have been the beginning of bitterness and negativity toward God. Yet, locked in stocks in the inner cell of the jail, they found time to reflect upon the Lord and the grace that had been extended to them. The result: two hearts that learned how to praise God with singing and prayer.

In the moment, the jail cell of life you’re in may seem like life’s only reality – “woe is me.” However, it’s also in life’s prison that one has time to reflect on the good things and find time to lift his head from the scourge of the valley to the beauty of the mountains above. Let us all learn to praise, lest we become the negative person we all despise spending a great deal of time with!

Resounding Themes:

Praise of God
God’s Faithfulness
Gratitude
Reflection of God’s Grace and Blessing
Celebration and Jubilation