As Christ said, “in this world, you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. It is no mystery that we will face struggle and trial, however, in every one of these trials and struggles, we persevere when we find our hope and provision in the Lord. We can be trained to lay our cares at the feet of the Lord and rest in His goodness. I believe a great skill has been given to the children of God in order to help us persevere. That skill is gratitude.
It is no mystery that a great epidemic has ransacked countless people today. Maybe this is due to the rise of social media or the ever-increasing use of screens, or the unfortunate decrease in social interaction. Whatever the cause, the epidemic is a reality, and it is the tyrant, anxiety. It plagues young and old alike. However, this is a monster that can be beat. One of the great remedies for battling this dragon is to possess a practiced and trained heart of gratitude. Philippians 4:13 instructs us to be anxious for nothing, rather through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your request known to God. For our caring, empathetic, compassionate, and sovereign Father in Heaven is stronger than this thief of our joy. So, cry out to Him with thanksgiving.
Notice also that the passage in Philippians instructs us to turn our eyes away from the problem and to the Lord. This is a specifically focused thankfulness. This is a thankfulness appropriately directed to the one above. Gratitude is as much a practice as it is a result. Therefore, we must make a concerted effort to practice gratitude. We cannot be thankful to the new car, or the new job, or the circumstance which brought us comfort and peace. We must be thankful to the Giver of all these great gifts. When we are thankful to something, we find our joy and satisfaction in the thing itself. Imagine the frustration that would come if the car, or the job, or the comfort did not drive, provide, or last as long as we meant it to. Since we have given thanks to the wrong thing, we become disappointed. Therefore, you see appropriately directed gratitude has much to do even with an appropriate perspective.
When we give thanks to our God intentionally and consistently, then we find that appropriate focus and perspective follows. Set your mind on things above, where Christ is. For your life is hidden in Him. No matter the struggle and no matter the trial, if you turn to Him, the Lord above will care for you as a loving Father cares for His child.
Therefore, as you prepare to gather for these holidays, know that your God wants you to be thankful and has given you incredible reasons to fuel a disposition of gratitude. From this place you will be able to combat the threat of anxiety. As you turn your eyes appropriately to the giver of all good things. Find your joy in Him, for He is the one who provides, without disappointment. And you will find, that as you practice this virtue of gratitude, the concerns, fears, and threats of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
