Living with an Attitude of Gratitude

I preached my first sermon in November during one of our youth services. Our theme was giving thanks so naturally I went with a message centered around gratitude. It was a huge step in my faith to come out of my comfort zone and do something I felt that God had called me to. Living in gratitude is something that I think as Christians is so important and I want to share that message with you all.

Living with an attitude of gratitude means to be thankful for all things even the bad because the trials we go through is what strengthens our faith and we must remember that God always has a purpose for our pain.

Thankfulness doesn’t stop when things get hard - Paul and Silas praised in prison. The Lords love endures no matter how hard life gets and no matter what mistakes we might make. That in itself is something to be thankful for.

Giving thanks to people in our every day life is also important. Thank your mom for making dinner. Thank your dad for helping with homework. Thank your grandparents for the special time you get together. Thank a friend for listening when you have a problem. Thank your mailman for his hard work. Thank your pastor for his faithfulness and guidance. The list goes on. Giving thanks is important and it can make all the difference in someone’s day and someone’s life. We also have to give thanks to God because without Him none of the others would even be possible to give thanks to!

Jesus frequently expressed the importance of having a grateful heart, of recognizing our blessings and expressing our appreciation for them. As Christians we should be striving daily to be more like Jesus in order for others to know Him through us. It seems like one of the easiest ways to practice being Christ like is by choosing to be thankful.

One point I made in my sermon that I felt would be helpful in getting people to understand how to live in gratitude is the "I get to" mindset. Instead of looking at things with an "I have to" mindset, changing that to "I get to" helps you view life in a more positive light and as a privilege. For example, instead of saying "I have to go to work" you could say "I get to go to work because I am blessed with employment and financial security" or instead of "I have to read my Bible" you could say "I get to read my Bible because I am blessed to have access to it and the ability to know Gods word" Get it? Using the "I get to" mindset is a small way that you can choose to live with an attitude of gratitude and I urge you to adopt that into your life in the upcoming new year!