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"Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(Ephesians 5:20)
I was listening to a podcast a couple of weeks back and I heard a statement that is still speaking to my heart and mind. The speaker said he has learned to quit listening to himself and to start talking to himself. What great advice! We all have negative, defeating thoughts that plague us, but a much healthier and therapeutic approach would be to stop listening to all the negative and actually speak to ourselves that which is good, wholesome, and positive. My greatest battle is the one I fight with myself. I can slip into negative thinking rather quickly. All can be going great, when suddenly, a negative thought will arise in my mind, and like a distracted canine, I run after the squirrel of negativity. Can you relate?
For those who desire to enjoy the blessings of therapeutic thanksgiving but are often derailed by negative thoughts, I offer the following tips. I call these negative thoughts "toxic thanksgiving killers". Try to recognize these joy-killing thoughts and bring them captive to the obedience of Jesus, as Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
- Being offended and angry at God is a state of ungratefulness. This kind of thinking believes that God is holding out on you. You are tempted to think that God has not been as kind to you as you deserve. Nothing could be further from the truth. God loves you, and all you have to do is look at the cross of Jesus and know for certain that He loves you. There is nothing we could ever do to deserve what He did for us, yet He did it; He laid His life down, rose again, and offers us salvation through Him by simple faith and repentance... because He loves us. He is not against you, but as the song The Blessing reiterates over and over: "He is for you; He is for you."
- Comparing your life to others is a sure way to feel defeated and ungrateful. Comparison kills thankfulness and leads to bitterness. I was listening to Carey Nieuwhof's leadership podcast, as I do most weeks, and he was talking about how we all do this. He has a podcast listening audience of something like 10 million people, which is one of the largest in the world. But he said if he falls into comparison, which is unhealthy, he could look at The Joe Rogan Experience and feel very small. Rogan in 2019 had 190 million downloads per month, and he made $30 million last year, making him the highest paid podcaster in the world, according to Forbes. Comparison kills joy and makes us envious and unappreciative. I love this wonderful passage in Hebrews 13:5, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
- Neglecting time with the Lord each day is a sure way to become ungrateful. Praying is the most important thing you will do all day. I plead with you to take on the daily discipline of spending time with Christ in prayer and reading His Word, the Bible, every single day. I read a chapter in Proverbs each day, and it is a life-changer for me.
- Forgetting how truly blessed we are is a key factor in becoming ungrateful. Counting our blessings and naming them one by one, as the hymn admonishes us, is a great way to begin each day. I have a section in my prayer time each day where all I do is thank God.
I hope these warnings are helpful for you. I am in the battle with you and am pursuing the Lord and a heart that is constantly grateful. It is the absolute best way to live!
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