The Power of Gratitude

The Power of Gratitude

Why we need to be thankful in a self-righteous world

Last weekend I had an awesome opportunity to volunteer for a fundraiser put on by one of our ministry partners. Bridge Street Ministries is an great organization doing some important ministry on the West side of Grand Rapids. They have a host of programs where they are speaking into the lives of people who need Jesus. Each spring they hold a half marathon that serves as their biggest fundraiser of the year. When they reached out to me about getting a group together to help out, it was a no brainer!

So last Saturday I woke up early and made it out to one of our local parks just before 7am. It was a cold morning as West Michigan continues to debate about whether or not it is time to be Spring or 3rd Winter. I was assigned a spot at one of the aid stations, essentially my job was to fill cups with water and Gatorade and hand it to the runners as they blew past.

At this point I think it is important that I remind you that running is not something I do. Like at all. We were at the 4 mile mark… I don’t think I have ever run 4 miles in my life. Even if you added up all the times I have run it probably still would not be 4 miles. If you ever see me running you should probably also start running because chances are there is some kind of monster chasing me. I loathe it.

So there we were, waiting for the runners to get to our spot. I had no idea what to expect. I had imagined most people who are in the middle of running to be winded and tired. I get winded walking up a flight of stairs. The thing that blew my mind was how person after person who ran by took time to thank us for being there.

They were the ones who were running to support this amazing ministry. They were doing the hard part… and they chose to thank me for doing nothing but standing there holding cups of Gatorade. And the crazy thing is… they meant it. I can’t even tell you how many times I was thanked for doing practically nothing by people who were doing something I cannot even fathom! I should have been thanking them!

I have been thinking about this all week long! I find myself asking the question, “Do I live a life of gratitude?” I mean sure, I thank people when they do things for me. When a waiter refills my water or when my family helps me with something I throw out a quick “thank you.” But do I really mean it? The truth is that so often “thank you” has become a knee jerk response that gets very little thought beyond the words I spoke.

I think there is massive power in gratitude. When we live a life of gratitude it helps to realign our souls. When we train ourselves to be thankful it reminds us of the blessings that we so often take for granted. It changes the way we view the world around us. When we live a life of gratitude, we see all things as a gift.

Living this way is not natural for many of us, our culture tends to buy into the trap of self-reliance. No need to be thankful for the things we have done for ourselves. This has made us self-righteous, entitled, and in many ways bitter. If we want to experience the power of gratitude, we have to rewire our brains. We have to find ways of reminding ourselves of the blessings given to us on a daily basis.

Here is what I would love to encourage you to try. For the next month, keep a journal. It could be in a notebook or even the notes app on your phone. Each day write down three things you are grateful for. Sound easy, but here is where I would throw in a curve ball… try and see if you can go a whole month without repeating yourself.

The more our eyes are open to the blessings we have around us the more we will respond with gratitude… and I truly believe the more we live in gratitude the more joyful we will become.