Category: Gratitude

Gratitude & Contentment: Counter Cultural

Have you noticed that one of the most recent trends on social media is finding ways to live a simpler, minimal life? There’s a reason that this trend has gone viral and that’s because it is so counter cultural--even revolutionary--to American society.

Everything we watch on television is chocked full of items and lifestyles the world says we need in order to be happy. Scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest, you’ll find ads from companies who know everything about you in order to market their products to your specific tastes.

We are a culture of more, more, more, but God is calling His people to less and less and less.

The Rich, Young Ruler

Remember the rich young ruler in Luke 18? He wanted so badly to follow Jesus, but Jesus knew there was one thing the ruler would never give up--his wealth.

And of course, as always, Jesus was right! The ruler turned on his heel and walked back the way he had come, unwilling to give up the grandiose lifestyle he had grown accustomed to. Afraid to miss out on the life money offered to him, he missed out on the incredible journey Jesus had to offer him.

If there was ever a country that mimicked the rich young ruler’s example, it would be America. To live content and grateful for what God has given us means we have to swim upstream against the current of our culture. It requires work, practice, and endurance.

But the life God is offering you is so much more valuable  and surreal than what this world could ever offer you. Do you believe that today?

Questions for Your Day:

  1. What is an area of your life you may need to fight to be grateful for this week?
  2. In what way are you like the rich, young ruler?
  3. Do you truly believe that the life God is offering you is far more valuable than what the world could offer?



3 Ways to Remember You are Valued

Think about the three people you are most grateful for in this world. Is it too hard to narrow down just three? How about five? It’s amazing how deeply our lives can be impacted by the people God places in our lives, and let’s all agree, some people are absolute treasures to us!

Now, let me ask you another question. Do you believe in your heart or hearts that someone out there would consider you to be one of their three people? If so, I know that brings a lot of warmth and value to your heart. But if you don’t believe that, I’m sure you have questions about your value to the people you love, and that can be a very lonely place to live.

While you can’t change the way others communicate their gratitude for you, you have every ability in the world to change your mindset and believe you are valuable and loved by others regardless of how they show it. Here are some reminders to help you remember your worth:

You are Valued because God Says You’re Valued

What would it mean if a person sacrificed the thing they love most in this world in order to restore a relationship with you? It would mean everything, would it not?

1 Corinthians 7 says that God paid a high price for you--one that none of us deserve or asked for, but a relationship with you was so valuable to Him that he sacrificed the life of his only son, Jesus, in order that you could be with him forever!

So whether you feel valuable or not, value is based on what someone is willing to pay for something, and the price God paid is higher than you could ever imagine!

Others may Express Gratitude Differently than You Receive it

Have you ever heard of the five love languages? It is a great study conducted many years back which compares how different people feel and express their love.

One thing they realized was that people express love in extremely different ways, which leaves room for a lot of miscommunication. Be encouraged that just because someone doesn’t express their love and gratitude for you the way you expect doesn’t mean that they aren’t immensely grateful for you! It just means that their love language is different than yours.

More than likely the way you express your love for others may not be the way others expect as well. So give your loved ones the benefit of a doubt and try to translate their actions in whatever love language your love ones speak best.

Be Transparent with Your Pain

If you feel undervalued or neglected by those you love, speak up! There is no point in walking around with open wounds. Be transparent about how you feel. Share the ways that you feel you need to be loved in order to feel valued and appreciated. This will allow any bitterness in your heart to be removed and you can move forward in your relationship with healing and understanding.

So there you have it--3 reminders of how wonderful and valuable you are! If you are still having doubts and need to think about this further, I encourage you to think through the following questions:

  1. When was the last time you explicitly told someone how grateful you are for them?
  2. What is your love language? If you’re unsure, you can take the test here.
  3. Who do you need to have a conversation with to resolve this pain?



Fear of God Brings Gratitude

Have you ever wondered about the Bible verse in Proverbs that says, “Fear the Lord?” What exactly does it mean? And why would fear ever lead me to feel gratitude?

God is the creator and designer of all things. If we remember how powerful He is and stay in awe of the miracle He performed on the cross to make us a part of His family forever, our only desire will be to please Him and honor Him. We won’t care about what people think of our life choices or our decisions because our priorities are seen through the lens of the cross, and our hearts can’t help but become full of gratitude.

If (or more likely when) we lose sight of the cross and of God’s work in our lives, God will become smaller in our minds, and we will instead see our priorities through the lenses of other people’s standards for us.

And we all know how impossible those standard can be!

The only way we know to impress each other in our culture is to buy more and more stuff to show how successful we are. Without realizing it, we fall into the trap of living only to one-up the Joneses. Whatever gratitude we may have experienced is instead replaced with envy and discontentment.

So how do we keep our eyes and our priorities fixed on God? We have to take actionable steps every single day to ensure that we never lose awe or fear for what Jesus did for us on the cross. When feelings of envy or jealousy start to creep in, ask yourself, “Did Jesus come off of His throne in Heaven and die a martyr’s death so that I could sit in jealousy of my neighbor’s new car?”

Of course the answer will be no. Asking yourself this question daily will keep you motivated to consider what He did make that sacrifice for and set your eyes on accomplishing the things worthy of that sacrifice--regardless of what others may think.

Here are some questions for you to consider as you start your weekend:

  1. Have you found yourself envious of something or someone lately?
  2. Who is the one person in your life you are trying to impress, whether you are consciously aware of it or not?
  3. What can you do to reignite the awe you have for what God has done for you so your heart can be filled with gratitude again?