cultivate an attitude of gratitude

i went for Amplify this friday. it was the last Amplify session of the year. i’m glad i went.

leo gave a talk and touched on a very simple yet very important message. he spoke about developing a heart of gratitude, appreciating what we have and positioning our hearts to receive the very best God wants to give to us.

he cited the story of the cleansing of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11. only one of them (the Samaritan) came back to thank Jesus, after which Jesus replied “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

i’ve read that passage many times but leo’s explanation gave me a new perspective. i’m going to summarise what he said:

there is a difference in being healed and in being whole. for the 9 lepers who got cleansed but didn’t recognise God’s intentions only got half of the deal. in order for our lives to be full, we should recognise that there is something bigger, and greater that we should give thanks, praise and worship to. God made us for great things and he wants to make us whole. we are not perfect that’s why its important for us to seek wholeness in God.

it is with gratitude that we pave the way for recognition. it is when we are thankful for both the good, bad and ugly that we are made whole at the feet of Jesus.

being whole is being able to give more than you take. when we are whole, we are able to invest in relationships. the opposite of wholeness is brokenness and if most broken people tend to be emotionally dependent on people who surround them, in the long run, it will drain both parties.

unless gratitude is part of our nature, we will never be whole people. if we are not grateful, we cannot recognise the good and if we cannot recognise the good, we become resistant to God’s love.

it is like hanging a teflon pan on your heart. it is hard to have anything stick if you have teflon because of the non-stick qualities it possesses. because of this, we find it harder to recognise God’s love for us.

grateful people have hearts that are covered with velcro. they cherish everything God has to give, and in turn recognising His love. that’s how they become whole, better people.

if a half cup of water was placed in front of you, would you say that it is half full or half empty? to this, leo gave a very refreshing answer. he said that to him, the answer you give is not indicative of how optimistic or pessimistic you are but about how much you cherish what you have. if you say it is half full, you are someone who cherishes life, and everything in it, even however little you have. if you say it is half empty, it is clear how ungrateful a person might be, for whatever little he/she has. so simple but so true.

at the end of the day, God just wants us to live whole and full lives. but by doing that, we need to be able to be conscious of how much we have and thank God for it. every little bit goes a long way. every failure, every set back, every bad day is there for a reason. it might be difficult but we should be grateful for it. at least we know that it makes us stronger, and that we are not facing it alone.

that said, i can also say that it is not easy to be grateful when the times are tough. it is not easy to praise and thank God when our own lives feel like they suck. but sometimes, it is not about basking in the sorrow or joining in the pity party, but rather, about turning towards the ray of light, however weak it might be, and to just recognise that God is here with us every step of the way. we just have to be grateful for whatever comes our way.

life it is not easy. but it isn’t so difficult either, when God is by our side.

i should know better.

Thank you God for everything that has happened this year, for the happy times, the sad times, the frustrating, the angry and hopeless times. i thank you for the difficult parts and for the good parts and please help me to always recognise the good in each situation and never to let despair take over me. Amen.