6. Fear and anxiety.
I have heard it said that a reality where fear and anxiety exist is a reality where a good God does not exist. Fear and anxiety are not just stealing your thankful heart. They, like comparison, are sinful acts. How many times does Jesus say, “Fear not?”. Remind yourself of the God of faithfulness and steadfast love that you serve, and fear not. Remind yourself of all the ways that God has been good to you.
7. Get rid of expectations.
The first way to get rid of expectations is to not live in slavery to the expectations of others. There are some who feel like a failure if they let down the expectation of people who matter to us. Pleasing everyone is impossible. You will fail. This will hinder your thankfulness to God.
The second way to live in the slavery of expectations is to constantly expect your way to be perfect. You live under the slavery of something you can never accomplish, and in order to make your stay steady and perfect you expect those closest to you to play their perfect parts too. This leads to a world of hurt and self focus. This leads to a heart that cannot be thankful.
8. Stay in the present.
I think the easiest way that we get distracted from how thankful we should be is by living in either the past or the future. Neither of these realities are real, therefore we cannot be thankful. God’s reality is now. We can only experience Him now. And it is only in Him that we can see why we are thankful.
9. See what Jesus has done.
The very One that I am the most thankful for is Jesus Christ. His love, sacrifice, and faithfulness to me is the ultimate reason for life and thankfulness. He is the reason that I live. He is the reason for thankfulness. And “every good and perfect gift comes from Him.” He is goodness. Preach the gospel to yourself every day. Do everything you do for the sake of the gospel. Share the gospel every chance you get. If you do this, you will be thankful.
10. Take off the weight that Another has carried for you.
So often we drag around stuff that has been carried by another- sin, pasts, worry, fears, hardship, condemnation, suffering…etc. Why do we carry that stuff around? We carry weight because we put our hope in things we think won’t change, but always do change. Maybe its your health, family, friends, financial security, spouse, job, talent…etc. you name it. You put all your hope in that thing you think will never change, but then it does change. Your faith, hope, and thankfulness gets challenged and a weight is placed on your shoulders. You were never meant to carry that weight. Jesus carried the weight of failure. Put your hope in the One that never changes. You will be so thankful you did.
God Bless you all!
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