Gratefulness

I was flipping through my old Bible Study notebook this last week, and found some wonderful topical studies. One that stood out was a study on gratefulness. The very beginning of the study began with a comparison of pride and gratefulness, which seemed a little odd, until I read the definitions:

Gratefulness: communicating to others the precise way in which they have benefited my life, and looking for ways to honor them.
Pride: Believing that I have achieved what God and others have done for me and through me.
1 Corinthians 4:7 "For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
The key to gratefulness being a realization our how indebted we are to God...how deserving of nothing but eternal judgment...how we can only be grateful for the ways in which God and others benefit us. Redirecting praise is something that we often fail to do, but is key to gratefulness and keeping the pride of self-accomplishment at bay.

Following that initial comparison, was a list of specific recipients of our gratefulness: God, parents, family, your conscience, church elders, civil authorities, employer, true friends. After each recipient was a list of specific ways to give thanks and be grateful for them. Some of the challenging ones really stood out to me though.

~ Give thanks for the hardships in life.
~ When you feel as though you have nothing to be thankful for, give thanks anyway.
~ When others give you praise, redirect it to whom it is due.
~ Be grateful for correction from others.

I find it easy to give thanks when I am blessed with good health, good food, a peaceful family, sufficient finances, extra blessings, etc. But when those things start to dissappear, I find myself turning inward to focus on my "suffering." I'd like to challenge you to join me in taking some extra time to just be grateful. To turn to the One to whom all credit is due. And the next time hardship comes, when you don't feel like giving thanks, join me in searching out God's blessings and learning to have a true heart of gratefulness and thanksgiving!!

Psalm 69:30 "I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with Thanksgiving."