Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. —Ephesians 5:20
Matthew Henry, the eighteenth-century Puritan preacher, was once accosted by robbers. Yet this godly man couldn’t help but find something to be thankful for as a result of his misfortune:
Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.1
What a perspective! As someone has said, “If you can’t be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.”
It’s simply true that those who choose to make gratitude their mindset and lifestyle can view anything—anything!—through the eyes of thankfulness. The whole world looks different when we do. And those whose gratitude is directed toward God Himself find that they deepen their relationship with Him on many levels.
1James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited: A Topical Collection of Hundreds of Stories, Quotations, & Humor for Speakers Writers, Pastors, and Teachers, ed. (Tyndale, 1988), 264.
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Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy ©2009 Revived Hearts Foundation
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
How could looking through the perspective of gratitude change your attitude about your current circumstances?