Choosing Gratitude: Week 3

Hello, friend! Are you ready to begin your journey toward greater joy? Join us for our Summer 2023 Book Club-Style Bible Study. We're reading "Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy" by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. This book challenges and equips us to live a life of gratitude.

What is gratitude? Gratitude is a choice. It is a decision to focus on the good things in our lives, even when things are difficult. When we choose gratitude, we are choosing to be happy and content. Why is gratitude important?

Gratitude has many benefits, including:

• Increased happiness and well-being
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved physical health
• Stronger relationships
• Increased creativity and productivity

GRAB YOUR BOOK HERE AND LET'S GET STARTED!

"When we take simple blessings for granted as if they were owed to us, or conversely, when we start to think that our house, our car, our wardrobe, or our general station in life is beneath what we deserve, ingratitude finds all the oxygen it needs to thrive.

One of the unseemly side-effects of all the effort and energy our society has invested in building our individual and collective self-esteem is that our culture is now rife with this super-high level of deservedness." —Nancy DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude

So how do we cultivate a life of gratitude? There are many ways to cultivate gratitude, here are a few:

• Keep a gratitude journal.
• Write thank-you notes to people who have blessed you.
• Spend time each day reflecting on the good things in your life.
• Express your gratitude to God in prayer.

Join us for this study! Each weekly post will be posted on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 here on the blog, June 6 - August 1. Feel free to discuss the book and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. Let's make cultivating gratitude a priority in our lives this summer!

No Thanks

​Do you consider yourself a grateful person? You may be thinking, “Um…I’m more grateful than the average person. After all, I am a Christian, and Christians are grateful people, right?” Sometimes we acquire a better understanding of a word by looking at its opposite. Let’s take a moment to shift our focus from gratitude to ingratitude.

Elizabeth Elliot said, “Thankless children we ALL are, more or less, comprehending but dimly the truth of God’s fathomless love for us.” According to that statement, we are thankless when we do not comprehend God’s fathomless love for us. Therefore, the more we DO comprehend His love—the more we understand it and recognize it—the more grateful we are.  ​

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:26

“So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:31

God loves and cares for animals and plants, but He loves people infinitely more. In fact, people have more value than any other creation.

As I was eating lunch one day in late January, enjoying the bluebirds and yellow warblers at my feeder, I noticed an eastern phoebe hopping along on the ground. The phoebe is one of my favorite birds, so I grabbed my binoculars and watched as he snatched a fat caterpillar from a blade of grass.

Now, you must understand that this was in the deep south during a winter that was experiencing unusually warm temperatures. Our daffodils had already bloomed. It struck me that he was so matter-of-fact about it. It didn’t seem to surprise him at all that here was a caterpillar for his lunch in the “dead of winter.”

Seeing this caused me to stop and express gratitude to my Creator for not only feeding the Phoebe, but providing for me and caring for me even more than He does this bird. If we only could comprehend the love and care that God has for us, we would regularly be overflowing with gratitude and praise.

The most well-known picture of both gratitude and ingratitude in the Bible is found in Luke 17, where we read Jesus heals ten lepers.

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’" Luke 17:15-19

Leprosy is an awful disease. In the Bible it is likened to sin. Leprosy is a physical deterioration of a body, whereas sin causes spiritual deterioration.

• Both cause separation.
• Both result in suffering.
• Both result in a wasting away.
• Both leave scars.
• Both, if neglected, lead to death.

In Luke 17 the healing is dramatic, and we would expect the grace that followed the disease to result in dramatic gratitude as well. Why did the others not turn back to say Thank you? It is hard to even imagine that they didn't. Maybe they were caught up in the excitement, and it did not even cross their minds. Maybe they went looking for Jesus later but could not find Him.

But for that one leper, his first reaction was to gratefully fall on his face at Jesus’ feet, and loudly praise God giving Jesus thanks. Notice that he had to turn around and go back to do this. He was already on his way to see the priest.

This man’s thanks came from the heart. It was not the kind of thanks that a child gives out of duty. He held nothing back. He gave it loudly. He didn’t care what people thought, or that his friends might get to the priest first. His only thought was to thank Jesus, and nothing could stop him.

We tend to look down on the other nine lepers, but maybe it wasn’t that they didn’t care. Maybe thanking Jesus did not even enter their minds. It wasn’t a priority for them. But why not?

In Luke 17:7-10, just a few verses before the “ten lepers” passage, we read, “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So, you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

What do we see about gratefulness in this passage?

Servants should not expect to be thanked. If we are not thankful, then we must have the attitude that whoever did something for us or gave something to us is our servant. I am owed or entitled to this.

Philippians 2:3b says, "...but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." When we do this, we are grateful from the heart.

Isaiah 29:19 says, “The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD…”

Humility brings joy and rejoicing. It brings gratitude. Gratitude in turn develops humility and grace. This one leper knew he did not deserve this healing. He understood that it was grace. The undeserved favor of God.

Recognizing and acknowledging God’s grace results in gratefulness. Jesus’ next words to the leper in Luke 17:19 were, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

I often wondered if the other lepers suddenly became leprous again, but Jesus was talking about a wellness that was spiritual. The leper was “not just cured of his chronic physical condition, but secured with spiritual salvation.” --Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth​

Nine lepers, on the other hand, walked away ungrateful. But at least they were healed of their leprosy, right? Is ingratitude really that awful? Were those other nine lepers really heading down a dangerous road? They apparently were totally oblivious to their ingratitude.

“Gradually, subtly, we become desensitized, as layers of entitlement and resentment wrap themselves around our hearts, until thankfulness is all but gone from our lives and lips….ingratitude is the taproot out of which grows a host of other sins.” —​Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Let’s look at marriage as an example. Those who are married have the responsibility of being a helpmeet to their husband. But instead of being grateful, they complain. They are unhappy with the way their husband does certain things, the decisions he makes, and therefore he feels that he cannot do anything right. They fail to acknowledge the paycheck he brings home, the bills he pays, the grass he cuts, and the other 101 things he does right. A lack of gratitude leads to bitterness and possibly unfaithfulness.

“For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21

“An ungrateful person is only one step away from getting his or her needs met in illegitimate ways.” —Dr. D. James Kennedy 

Ingratitude is our first step away from God. That is a sobering thought.

What are the warning signs—the feelings and attitudes that can lead to ingratitude?

1. Unrealistic or unmet expectations—These types of expectations can lead to ingratitude and even resentment. Instead, expect nothing and you will never be disappointed. Our expectations should be from God. What He can and will do. 
   
   “My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope (expectation) is from Him.” Psalm 62:5
   
   
2. Forgetfulness—Scripture refers often to the danger of forgetting and the need to remember. Forgetting and ingratitude go hand in hand. 
   
   “You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.” Deuteronomy 32:18
   
   Keep putting the truths of His Word before you and you will not forget.
   
   
3. Entitlement—This attitude often leads to ingratitude because it makes us far less likely to appreciate what we already have. Instead, we should be content and thankful, using our blessings to do good for others.
   
   "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, Who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19
   
   
4. Comparison—This action can lead to ingratitude by making us feel like we don't have enough, or we're not good enough, causing us to take our blessings for granted. Instead, we should focus on what God has done for us and what He says we are in Him. Be grateful and serve others.
   
   "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12
   
   
5. Blindness to God’s grace—This failure can certainly lead to ingratitude. When we are blind to God's grace we lack appreciation for the good things we have from Him. We overcome this by spending time in prayer and Bible study, serving others, and being thankful for the small things.
   
   "And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption." 1 Corinthians 1:30

God help us! Open our eyes to ingratitude.

“Forgive me for the many times and ways I reflect negatively on Your character and Your goodness, by verbalizing discontent and murmuring to others. Grant me a spirit of true repentance and heart that is always abounding, overflowing in gratitude toward you and others.” —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Help me to choose gratitude.

How are you going to choose gratitude this week, friend?

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Christian Gratitude Journal for Women

This ​Christian Gratitude Journal for Women is produced by Pretty Simple Press. It's a 52-week inspirational guide to a life with more prayer and less stress.

This Gratitude Journal is designed to help us cultivate an attitude of gratitude. It's a self-exploration journal that encourages us to focus on being thankful for what we have. We'll focus on the big things in life, as well as the simple joys. Each well-designed and deeply-inspirational weekly spread contains space for us to journal. We'll journal three things we are thankful for. We will also discover thoughtful weekly Scripture.

If we begin each day by writing down three things we are thankful for we're on our way to a lifetime of gratitude. Whether it's a family member, a dear friend, or the ability to read a good book. We will begin each day on the right path.

Grab this journal and begin a daily habit of focusing on the blessings! ​

GRAB YOUR CHRISTIAN GRATITUDE JOURNAL FOR WOMEN HERE

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