In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”–1 Thess.5:18
Someone said,” The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing.” But, I believe there is a better way to look at it. As a child of God I do expect some things–the Bible teaches us to do so. Where there is faith there must be expectation. As we yield ourselves to God’s will we can expect that He will supply all our needs (Matt.6:33). We should expect that and we should be thankful for it. We should also expect forgiveness when we confess, peace when we follow God’s plan, strength when we are trusting Christ for aid, and grace when we are weak. There’s nothing wrong with expecting God to keep His promise—there is something wrong if we don’t. God is honored when we trust Him. Those who expect nothing are likely to get nothing.
The best way to develop a grateful heart is to realize that we don’t deserve anything–we really don’t! Think about it this way—Those who don’t deserve anything should be thankful for everything. That way our gratitude is rooted and grounded in grace. How can we not be grateful when we realize that everything we have is the result of God’s grace? No one is earning their way with God–nobody! “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father–“(James 1:17).
As long as we think we deserve more, bigger, and better we will fail to be grateful. When we understand that we are just sinners saved by grace, deserving of hell, it is much easier to accept what God allows and to appreciate what God provides. Although we are totally undeserving, we are joint-heirs with Christ.Be thankful!
If God never did anything but save us from hell we would have no reason to complain about anything.–HDS
