“Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 AMP

 Are you getting weary of all the gratitude talk this week? Well, don’t check out on me yet! Do you catch yourself grumbling instead? There are certainly many reasons why being grateful is important. I’ll bet you think you’ve heard them all. But I don’t know if you’ve considered this one. As I have been mulling over the idea of gratitude, I found a connection I hadn’t considered before. I am hoping that you get something out of this, too. Stick with me!

Here’s the idea: Giving thanks in every situation gives glory to God. Have you ever thought about that? If you want your life to bring glory to God, then you can start by being thankful. And — oh, by the way — being thankful is a choice, not a feeling. You can do it regardless of how you feel. Just saying.

So, here’s some motivation for giving thanks even when things are tough.  

Gratefulness is what gives us the power to persevere when things are not going well. Gratefulness helps us see God when He is hard to find. Gratefulness helps us go to God when we need answers and help. Gratefulness reminds me that God is good and trustworthy. Why would I go to a God I don’t trust? Thank You, Lord, for ALWAYS being faithful! 

I can’t say when it started, but I find myself expressing thanks to God throughout my day and without being intentional. My guess is that it did start intentionally during a really tough season, but I honestly can’t remember. However it started for me, I know that those constant little expressions of thanks help me to feel connected to God throughout my day and keep me going when things are not going the way I want them to.

Anytime we trust God, that brings Him glory. Anytime we persevere because of faith, that brings God glory. When you choose to be grateful you find the power to persevere and trust God. How’s that for a reason to practice gratitude?

Gratefulness keeps us connected to God’s will.  When Jesus was troubled, His prayer was, “Father, glorify Your name.” (Check out John 12:27.) Jesus had the same natural tendency that you and I do to want to avoid pain and trouble. It’s part of being human. But His choice at that moment was to go with God’s will rather than His own. Maybe it would help if I gave you the whole verse here.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” John 12:27-28 NIV

 Jesus kept the higher purpose in mind — God’s glory. How does that connect to gratefulness? I know the word “grateful” doesn’t appear in these verses. But don’t you think that Jesus was grateful to His Father for the opportunity to reconcile humanity’s broken relationship with Him? Don’t you think that gratefulness motivated Him to choose God’s glory over His own comfort? Gratefulness had to be a part of this whole scenario and that gratitude made God’s glory the ultimate goal. That’s an example to follow! Don’t you think?

Gratefulness honors God by being honest.  Honor God by being honest in prayer. I was reading about Hannah, Samuel’s mother, when this verse jumped out at me: “Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up.” (1 Samuel 1:9 NIV) So, what’s the big deal about that? Hannah was “deeply troubled.” She had been struggling because she had no children and withstood constant provoking from her rival because of it. She stood up and went to do business with the Lord. She’d had enough! She stood up and went to the temple to pray where she “poured out her soul” to God. And God answered with a promise that she would have a son. She honored God with her honest feelings. It takes a heart that is grateful for God’s presence to do that. He was glorified, not only by her conceiving Samuel but by her willingness to come to Him with her honest feelings.

Like Jesus, Hannah didn’t skip over her honest feelings. Jesus was honest first, but then His request was God’s glory.

Here’s the thing, Friend. God doesn’t always choose to glorify His name through our escape as He did with Paul and Silas, Peter, Daniel, and so many others. Sometimes He chooses to be glorified through our faithfulness and perseverance,     as He did with every single one of the twelve apostles who endured suffering without relief. Every one of them except John died a martyr’s death. John died in exile after multiple experiences of torture. Jesus did not glorify God through escape. He glorified God through His suffering.

We do God a disservice when we always expect escape. Is He able? Absolutely! Does He always choose to part the seas and lead us out of trouble? No. That is why gratefulness and God’s glory are key to successfully navigating our troubles. Jesus did not ask to be delivered from His trouble. He asked for God to glorify His name. That involved death. God will always resurrect what we willingly offer for death, but not always in the way we want it. When we make our request God’s glory rather than our own comfort, we can trust that however He chooses to bring that resurrection, it will be for our good.

Dear Friend, whatever trial you are facing right now, Gratefulness and God’s glory go together. Grumbling may be a natural response. But as you give Him thanks and make His glory Your goal you will receive all you need and see His hand at work.

 Key Question: Do you respond to trouble with gratitude?

A Scripture to Consider: “Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 AMP

A YES Challenge: What challenge are you facing right now? Take some time to be honest with God about it. Then ask Him to be glorified in it. That is a prayer that He will answer.  

Prayer: Father, forgive me for all the ways I seek my own comfort rather than Your glory. I so often look to get out of the hard things rather than to trust You in them. Father, be glorified in me and in my circumstances. Glorify Your name. Thank You for always being faithful to me and for always being good. I will give thanks and trust You. Amen.