Devotion to Living Grateful
In Colossians 4:2, the Apostle Paul, in his closing remarks, tells the Christians at Colossae, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
Closing remarks are those things that you want your audience to remember. It is that statement that bears repeating, so one doesn't forget. This means that devotion to living grateful is an essential task for us to engage regarding our faith.
A.J. Jacobs, in his book, Thanks a Thousand, says, "In hopes of restoring my sanity in these troubling times, I recently undertook a quest: I pledged to thank every single person who had a role (however small) in making my morning cup of coffee possible."
I love this quote because, as a person who doesn't have faith in Jesus, he still recognizes the need to live grateful for the sake of his sanity in "these troubling times".
I notice from both Paul and A.J. Jacobs's observation that gratitude is a developed skill, not merely a response to something I like. It isn't just a skill; it is an essential skill that is key to navigating "troubling times" and living out the faith that God has called us to in a broken world.
So how do I develop it? Two observations I would like to share:
It takes practice. That means, even if I don't feel grateful today, I need to practice gratitude somehow. Find something that you can stop, pause, recognize, and say thank you for, or someone you can say thank you to.
It is a skill that requires time to ponder all that is worth celebrating in our lives. And yes, even amid a pandemic, there is much to be grateful for. So, set aside 5-10 minutes each day to reflect on being thankful.
And I would argue that gratitude this Thanksgiving Season can be more healing and powerful than any other in light of all that we are experiencing. God has given us a gift that can cut through the fog of this world, gratitude. And he has also blessed us with the one thing that we will always have to be thankful for: King Jesus is inviting us into an eternal and life-giving relationship with him!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, and if you are interested, check out A.J. Jacob's book and/or Ted Talk on his journey. You might find it a blessing as I did!