How to Have an Attitude of Gratitude? You Choose It

One of the hardest parts about the holidays is the expectation that we are to have a great attitude through it all. There is this pressure to be thankful. It’s easier said than done!  Despite the joyful season, the holidays can be an emotionally hard time of year for many.

How do we make the most out of the holidays when we don’t always feel the joy? On a grander scale, how do we make the most out of life? Or out of the mundane things we have to do?

There is a trick, an emotional life hack, that can actually improve your life. So much so, that it can transform most aspects of your life. From your mental health, to your physical health and even your relational health.. 

It’s annoyingly simple… it’s your attitude!

Your intentional outlook on life, specifically, when you live a life of gratitude.

Our brains were made to be grateful.
The secular and physiological world knows that the human brain was developed so that when you have gratitude for your life, you end up living a better life. The opposite is true also, when you are ungrateful or thankless, your quality of life goes way down.  

Dr. Robert A Emmons is a psychologist who has conducted extensive research on gratitude. He has found that gratitude improves our lives in many ways. Thankful people:

• exercise more regularly
• report fewer illness symptoms
• feel better about their lives as a whole
• are more optimistic about the future
• experience higher levels of joy, enthusiasm, love, and happiness
• are protected from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness
• can cope more effectively with everyday stress
• leads to increased feelings of connectedness and improved relationships
• have more satisfying and longer marriages
• have more friends and stronger social support
• feel more connected to others and more willing to help others in need
• get longer hours of sleep and increased restfulness when waking
• have longer lifespan expectation

Dr. Emmons reports, “Gratitude is literally one of the few things that can measurably change people’s lives. Gratitude maximizes the enjoyment of the good.”

We can sum it up this way: GRATITUDE TRANSFORMS YOUR LIFE! 

From just intentionally being grateful, you WILL LIVE a better life!

WHAT IS GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE?

As Christians, we know that this is how God has hardwired our brains. He intentionally made us this way, God created us to be people of worship! See, when you know who God is, that he loves you, that he has a purpose for you, and you get to worship him plus have a relationship with him… It naturally leads us to a place of gratitude!.

That’s why Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16:

Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

So when you ask, “What is God’s will for my life?,” THIS IS GOD’S WILL! It is God’s will that you be grateful. Let that sink in for a moment, God wants us to see the good in life, to be thankful and to find reasons to be satisfied…and to smile.

If something is God’s will, then not doing it is a sin. Actually, in 2 Timothy 3 it says: 

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful…

Your bad attitude… is a sin. If you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble!,” you’re not alone. You see, throughout the Bible, we are taught in hundreds of ways how to be people of gratitude.  

In the psalms, these beautiful songs and poems that capture the array of human emotion help us see the place of gratitude.  

Psalm 136

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

5 who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

7 who made the great lights—

His love endures forever.

8 the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

24 and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

25 He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

Why are we, as Christians, grateful? The first verse sets us up.

Psalm 136:1 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.”

First, Because God is Good!  That is such a simple statement but it’s packed with so much truth. It means that there is no evil found in God. He is perfectly good. We can have immense gratitude because not only is he good, but “His love endures FOREVER”

God isn’t a temporary fix. You don’t need a warranty with God because HIS LOVE WILL ENDURE FOREVER!  His very nature and attributes are the starting place for being grateful to God.

How can a Christian foster an attitude of gratitude?  

Let’s look back to 1 Thessalonians 5 and see the 3 steps of gratitude that the apostle Pauls shares with us:

1. REJOICE ALWAYS (1 Thes. 5:16 ) 

Note that this isn’t necessarily the experience of joy, but the expression of joy. That’s what being grateful really is. The expression often is the precursor to the experience! 

1 Thessalonian 5:1 is saying that no matter how I feel, I can still find things to be grateful for, I can still rejoice!

This is why worshiping God, particularly in song, is so important. As we rejoice in worship, that God has deliberately made emotive, it can quickly change our mood!  But it starts with the action!  YOU CHOSE.

It’s a cognitive action, my head knows I should, so I will, and as I do, it will bring change to my heart. We don’t just rejoice sometimes, we rejoice always because we know the secret, God is good and His love endures forever.

Even if everything else is horrible, we can be grateful for this fact.

2. PRAY CONTINUALLY (1 Thes. 5:17 )

Have you ever wondered, “what does prayer really do?”

I have often heard people say, “why should I pray to a God that already knows everything, including my thoughts!” A valid point, but what we often forget is, prayer is for us!  

God doesn’t need us to pray. He isn’t in heaven saying “I feel so weak right now. I need people to pray to give me strength” Like in the movie Elf where Santa needed people to believe in him in order to fly. 

No, prayer is for us! It’s for our benefit.

What is prayer? Prayer is us saying, “God we need you.”

Prayer is talking to God and saying, “Right now, in this circumstance, I need you.”

The purpose of prayer also reminds us that we need God all the time. No matter what is happening in our life, not just when things are falling apart, but when things are going great, too. 

Keep in mind that this challenge to pray continually, is sandwiched in the middle of “Rejoice always” and “Give thanks in all things.” 

That’s significant, what the apostle Paul is saying here is that to be truly grateful, you must live in complete dependency on the power of God in our life – that’s what prayer does. Prayer is us trusting God in all things. Prayer is us intentionally bringing God into the circumstances around us. 

When we do that, it brings about gratitude.   

III. Give Thanks In All Circumstances (1 Thes. 5:18 )

When do we give thanks? When are we to be grateful? When things are going well? When everything is going your way? Once a year on Thanksgiving? No!… In ALL circumstances!  

Do you see the theme in the verses? “Always… Continually… In all circumstance…”  Are we getting the hint?

See friends, gratitude… is… your… choice! 

We are called by God to make it a priority in the way we live. It’s not optional!

Sometimes, some Christians get so focused on NOT doing things that are sinful, that they miss the things they should be doing to be godly.  People go around avoiding sin, but they are miserable and angry, not realizing their horrible attitude is actually sinful. It’s ironic. 

We are to be constantly grateful people as followers of Christ. Others can tell when a person is grateful or resentful.

Let’s be real here. To be constantly grateful is not an EASY choice! 

For some personalities, this is easier than others, and choosing to be grateful does not downplay hardship or clinical depression, but it can be exhausting to have a good attitude in a bad situation. 

We must be self aware enough to know that this is something we can have a level of control over. Which means, we can go to God and say, “I can’t do this, God I need your power to get through this.”

But put into practice the three steps of 1 Thessalonians 5 and you’ll be on your way to an Attitude of Gratitude.

“ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE” SERIES

Follow our 4-part series for more teaching and practical steps to living out a life that’s a reflection of an Attitude of Gratitude towards God.

• Week 1: You Choose