Thankfulness: The Key to Having the Life You Really Want by Joyce Meyer
I recently spent some time thinking about what bad
attitude bothers God the most. I believe it’s an
ungrateful attitude.
If you’re a parent, you can probably relate to that.
You work hard to do all you can for your kids and
you’d jump at the chance to do it all over again if
they’d just say, “Thanks, Mom” or “Thanks, Dad. I
sure do appreciate the things you do for me.” But not all children display that kind of maturity. Many times they’ll come home murmuring and complaining, “I want this” and “I want that” and “Why won’t you do this one thing for me?” That’s
pretty aggravating, isn’t it? As God’s children, many
Christians probably sound the same way to Him!
That’s why I believe we need to take a fresh look at
ourselves and the importance of having a thankful
attitude toward God.
What the Israelites Couldn’t Figure Out
After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they
grumbled, murmured and complained. They didn’t
like his leadership, and they were tired of eating
manna. They actually wanted to go back to Egypt
where they were beaten and forced to work long
hours in the sun.
The Israelites thought their enemies were the reason
they couldn’t get to the Promised Land, but it was
their attitude that kept them wandering around in the
wilderness. (See Numbers 11.) All they needed to
do was be positive.
Now, think about the things in your life that you were
so excited about when God first blessed you—the
baby you were praying for, the spouse you longed
for, that promotion you tried so hard to get. They
may be the very thing you complain about today!
The nature of human flesh, if it is not disciplined and
controlled by the Holy Spirit, will always drift toward
the negative. You never have to try to complain, but it
does take a lot of faith and effort to maintain a
grateful, thankful attitude.
Appreciating Your Time in the Wilderness
You may think it’s a little bit strange to say this, but I
think we need to learn to appreciate our trials a lot
more than we do because they’re what make us grow
and mature in godly character.
You see, in hard times, we tend to experience more
of His nearness and power in our lives. It’s in those
times that we really come to know Him.
Complaining actually opens a door for the devil. We
need to learn to thank God in everything.
Don’t go to lunch with someone and spend the whole
time talking about your problems. Remember, recall
and recount the good things God is doing in your life.
Talk about your Red Sea moments. Remember the
manna He gave you last week. Remember the
resurrections you’ve had in your life. The Bible says
to fix your mind on those things that are worthy of
praise ( see Philippians 4:8 ). Remember those
things. Talk about those things.
I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy to do. It’s
much easier to make excuses and feel sorry for
yourself because things will happen to you that don’t
seem fair. The key is to keep saying, “I trust You, God,
and I believe You will work it all out for my good.”
The Benefit of Believing God
It’s a wonderful thing that God has done for us to be
able to look at a negative thing in a positive way and
actually say, “You cannot defeat me because God is
on my side.”
I want to have a good attitude because that’s what
will glorify God. He has promised that if we will do
three simple things—continue to pray, to love Him,
and to want His will—that all things will work
together for our good (see Romans 8:28) . That’s a
100 percent, ironclad guarantee that no matter how
messy life gets, God will make good out of it. If you
want victory in your life, all you have to do is adopt a
lifestyle of thanksgiving.
If you can manage to be thankful in every situation,
really believing that God is working everything out for
your good, you will end up with the victory every
single time.
This article is taken from Joyce's four-CD series,