“Thank you!”
This may just be a courtesy that people usually say after we’ve purchased something at their store. Even so, every time we hear that, it makes us feel good and we feel like going to that store again if we have something to buy. It is the same when we say it to others; when we show our appreciation to the person who did us a favor or helped us, it makes us feel good.
It is said that the simple gratitude practices in our daily life serve as a source of developing infinite potential within us. If the power of gratitude piles up, it may bring about a miracle in our life some day.
The Power of Gratitude
When you go to a foreign country, the first thing that you have to learn is thank you. Most mothers cooing to their children teach them to say, “Thank you,” after mama and papa, because expressing gratitude is a basic etiquette to everyone.
What we should pay attention to is that this basic etiquette has the power that we cannot overlook; those who always give thanks in every situation feel better about their lives and happier than those who do not.
In order to examine the influence of grateful thinking on people, two psychologists conducted an interesting experiment. They divided the participants into three separate groups and let each group focus on different situations for a week as follows: The first group focused on words and deeds of gratitude, the second group on offensive words and deeds, and the third group on ordinary words and deeds. As a result, they found that people who focused on words and deeds of gratitude were significantly happier than people in other conditions, and the result was the same when they extended the experiment period to a year. People who had an attitude of gratitude rarely got angry or nervous even in stressful conditions, and helped others more positively, and overcame frustration quickly.
The power of gratitude is not just limited to psychology. It has been proven that people who are grateful in all circumstances have stronger immune systems and live on average ten years longer than people who are not.
Being grateful doesn’t mean that your real life situation gets better. However, grateful people look for positive aspects of the things that they come across in their daily lives—and this is the most important thing. Instead of expecting unchangeable circumstances to change, they cope with extreme stressful situations by making themselves adaptable and flexible. Many examples show that grateful people, who always try to find things to be thankful for in any and every circumstance, tend to achieve much better outcomes than those who do not, and they are more likely to fulfill their desires.
It is not difficult to find the people who experienced the power of gratitude in the Bible. One of them is David, the second king of Israel. He unceasingly expressed his thanks to God. The book of Psalms is filled with songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. David uttered words of thanks even dozens of times in a single psalm. He gave thanks for what God did not only for himself but also for his forefathers in ancient times: for example, God’s dividing the Red Sea and striking down all the kings of Canaan. Moreover, he described the details of God’s work and thanked God for each and every one of them. We can guess why God so loved and blessed David and called him “a man after my heart” (Acts 13:22).
Two thousand years ago, when Jesus healed ten lepers, only one of them thanked Jesus and was saved (Luke 17:11–19). If we express our sincere gratitude to others, it returns to us like a boomerang and brings us a wonderful present. This is the power of gratitude.
Grumbling and Complaining Comes from Forgetting to Thank
The reason why people are not able to experience the true power of gratitude fully is that they easily lose their gratitude. There is a saying that goes; “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” This satirizes the attitude of people who make light of their blessings.
A man conducted an interesting experiment to observe the mentality of people with a tendency to easily forget gratitude. Every morning, he put a ten dollar bill in front of each door in a village. For a few days, the villagers felt thankful even though they were suspicious about it. As time passed, however, they took the money for granted. A month later, the experimenter passed by the village without putting the money at their doorsteps. Then the villagers grumbled and got angry at him; they regarded it as their right to take a ten dollar bill every day.
There is a similar case in the Bible. It is the story of the Israelites, who grumbled and complained against God in the desert and were destroyed in the end. They eagerly desired to be delivered from Egypt where they had been in slavery for 400 years. God heard their cry and rescued them from Egypt to lead them to the land of Canaan through Moses. Then they gave thanks to God over and over again. After they entered the desert, they continued to be thankful, because God rained down manna for them to eat each day as they had no food for about a month after they had left Egypt (Exodus 16).
However, their gratitude did not last long. At first, the manna was a sweet food for them, which tasted like wafers made with honey. However, constantly eating only manna, they came to detest it, calling it “miserable food” (Nu 21:5). They grew impatient on the way and spoke out against God and Moses whom God had chosen as their leader; they grumbled when they got thirsty because there was no water to drink, and also complained that God led them the long way around. They were distressed by their present inconveniences and totally lost their gratitude for the food which God sent them down from heaven when they had no food, for the waters which He brought forth for them out of the rock when there was no water, for their clothes which did not wear out and for their feet that did not swell, during their 40-year journey in the desert. They constantly grumbled and complained, and finally they failed to enter the promised land of Canaan.
Before being cast down to this earth, we committed sin in heaven because of our lack of gratitude. We were not fully grateful, despite uncountable heavenly blessings and glory given to us, and a small seed of complaint brought forth a huge sin, and finally we lost all our heavenly glory.
An empty space is to be filled with something. Where there is no gratitude, complaint will take its place and it will incur an unfortunate outcome.
The desire to have more, not being content, is another factor that makes us easily lose gratitude. The desire to be more comfortable and to have better things without contentment prevents gratitude from growing in our heart. It is like barren land where not even a blade of grass grows.
Then, what is the way to maintain gratitude, which warms our hearts, without forgetting it easily?
An American research team undertook an experiment while searching for a way not to forget gratitude. They had participants try to find things to be grateful for and count them every day. The participants wrote down three blessings (things that went well) during the day and also wrote in detail the reason why they received such blessings. After the six months of experiment, they all responded that they felt much happier than before. Practicing gratitude allowed them to find happiness even in little things in everyday life that they had failed to notice before.
Oprah Winfrey, a famous American talk show host, said that there were so many things to be grateful for in our daily life, and that we should “write down everything we are grateful for each day.” Ever since her childhood, she made it a habit to find things to be thankful for.
Experts say in one voice that it is good to have an attitude of gratitude in any form or by any means. However, there is one thing we should be aware of in practicing gratitude: That is not to compare ourselves with others.
Complaint, the opposite of gratitude, starts from “comparison.” If we compare ourselves with those who seem to be in better circumstances than us, it is hard to be grateful; but if we are free from the temptation to compare our lives to other people’s, we can easily find the good things we currently have—things to be grateful for.
The Miracle of the Gospel Accomplished Through Gratitude
There is a place where gratitude flows more than any other places: That is Zion where the children of God dwell. The children of Zion always give thanks to God for having forgiven all their sins and granted them the blessing of salvation; they thank God for always keeping them safe from all disasters that prevail all over the world; they thank God for having chosen them, who are slow of speech and do not have much knowledge, and for having entrusted them with the gospel and promised them great heavenly rewards. The power of gratitude creates greater miracles in the gospel. Here is a good example for this—it is the amazing work of the gospel that is now being accomplished in overseas Churches. Despite difficult situations, the overseas members are preaching the gospel earnestly, being truly thankful for the blessing of salvation which God has granted them. That’s why they are reaping the sheaves of good fruits with joy wherever they go.
Even if we do the same work, it makes a great difference whether we do it gratefully or ungratefully; there is a world of difference between a worship service full of thanksgiving and a service lacking thankfulness; and performing volunteer work with a grateful mind or doing it without gratitude also makes a difference in attitude and blessing.
The blessings we desire and the miracles of the gospel we expect are only achieved in a place overflowing with gratitude all the time. It is because God, who looks at the heart, bestows all His blessings on His children who come to Him with thanksgiving.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Php 4:6–7
“Gratitude” is the evidence of spiritual realization. Before saying that we know the will of God, we need to examine ourselves to see whether we are truly thankful to God. If you feel somewhat exhausted rather than happy when you preach the gospel, you need to examine yourself to see whether you are lacking in gratitude.
If we spend just a few minutes looking around us, we can easily find many things to be grateful for, though small: fresh air, warm sunshine, cool wind . . . How thankful we are that we can enjoy the benefits that nature provides us to the fullest! How thankful we are that our hearts are still beating and we are able to walk in the street!
Let us continuously give thanks to God for everything as David did, realizing the value of our blessings and counting them every day, so that we may not lose any of them. Let us also keep in mind that when we give glory to God with thanksgiving, the glory returns to us.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Th 5:16–18