How can I be thankful for the things I don’t like?
Often it can be really hard to be thankful. Especially when life is handing us a dish we aren’t in the mood to eat. It’s hard to be thankful when we are wrongly accused, or criticized, or suffering. When prayers aren’t answered, when plans get changed, or when dreams take too long, the last thing we think about is thankfulness. How in the world can we be thankful for things we don’t like? We know God commands us to be thankful in all things, but sometimes it’s just plain hard.
Let’s start by being clear what we are talking about before we try to work on doing it well.
What is biblical thankfulness?
Thankfulness is a heart expression not a verbal expression. It’s not really what I say from my mouth as much as what is flowing from within.
What’s the difference between action and a heart attitude? Why isn’t it enough to just say “thank you?” We can see God’s view of this in Isaiah 29:13, “…this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me…”
The difference
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