The Value of Gratitude

My wonderful friend, it is with great joy to God that I’ll like to welcome you to this special year that God has planned to elevate you to greater heights. I wish you a beautiful and prosperous Happy New Year. Permit me to share something new with you about the value of gratitude. 

In case you missed my last post, I will encourage you to take some time to read it especially as you begin this glorious year. The title is “Learn to live a life that outlives you”. Here, I shared how your originality will impact the way you take responsibility for the future you want to create. You may not be able to give life but make sure you make efforts to improve life because in it lies your greatness. 

As the year 2021 has begun, I will like you to spend some time counting your blessings and not losses from the year 2020. People speak of the downtime but mehn! I have been speaking of the faithful and blessing of the Lord. Counting your blessing will open you up to the realities of all you have been enjoying.

1 Corinthians 4:7

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

Few weeks ago, I was appreciating God for the things I enjoyed from 2020 and I was in tears saying “You have done me well Lord”. While people were complaining of a tough year, I was specially blessed by God and I’ll mention a few that will help you think and show God gratitude. God gave me continuous favour at my place of work, I got a place and furnished it to my taste, God delivered my mom twice from near-death situations, I didn’t take any medication all through the year and to crown the year, A wonderful car came my way. This is just to mention a few. I couldn’t hold my tears because I checked and found out that with my abilities or resources, I couldn’t get these things done. 

Lemme share a brief story with you. I was worried some years ago when I came back from school with a result I wasn’t expecting. I then entered into a service where I heard Bishop Abioye say something I had never heard and actually didn’t understand immediately but I knew God had me in mind. He said, “before you accuse God of not giving you your heart desires, first of all, appreciate Him for not giving you what you deserve”. I said which kind of talk is this because I did all I was supposed to do but still didn’t get what I wanted. Immediately he went on saying “you don’t deserve to be alive but it is of the Lord’s mercy that you and I haven’t been consumed Lam 3:22. I will not be able to complain about a bad result if I wasn’t a student. 

I got thinking and came to the realisation that the more I complain about the happenings in my life, the more complicated the situation remains. Complain never makes anything better but instead, it drains your energy and hurts your emotions because it lives you in a worse state of mind. Something will always remain undone when thanksgiving is not offered adequately and appropriately. Complaining keeps your eyes and mind in stagnation while thanksgiving will open your mind and eyes to creativity for new opportunities.

I have discovered that complaining is a poison to the joy and progress of anyone that is a regular customer.

Jeremiah 13:15-17

Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.

When you don’t acknowledge the source of good things you see or experience in your life, you begin to destroy the source for the good and open the door for evil. Thanksgiving will always improve your condition but murmuring and complaining will only complicate and prolong your situations.

Psalms 28:5

Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

The reason why you don’t seem to make progress is because you have refused to acknowledge the mighty finger of God for the little wins you have been able to collate in your life. Thanksgiving will always put smiles on your face and joy in your heart. This is because good things will layout smiles on your face and take sorrow away. 

In conclusion, thanksgiving talks about showing appreciation for the things done for you and in natural sense, it gives room for more things to come. The quality of my appreciation will create room for increases either from the same source or multiple sources. So as you begin this new year, I urge you to have a quiet moment that will involve recounting the things that you have enjoyed in the past year.