In any situation, we can choose to find reasons to be thankful or reasons to complain. Recently I had a conversation with my pastor at church and mentioned that our company now wants us to go into the office five days a week starting tomorrow. My pastor’s immediate response was, “You all have an amazing building.” That response really made me think and reminded me how easy it is for us to find things to complain about in almost any situation.
One of the speakers, Ryan Leak, once said that many of the things we complain about today are the very things we once prayed for. Sometimes we take the blessings God has given us for granted and begin to focus on the inconveniences or difficulties that come with those blessings.
What if we shifted our focus and chose to be thankful for what we already have? Recently I had to fly from Nashville, and my flight was delayed for several hours. I finally boarded my connection flight from Phoenix to Sacramento at 12:45 a.m., and while we were waiting at the gate, the agent announced that we had to wait for another crew to arrive. That meant another delay. Eventually the crew members arrived, and we were finally on our way around 1:45 a.m.
It was one of those days when I was trying my best to stay thankful. I made a decision to focus on being thankful. Even in that situation, I was able to find things to be thankful for. I was thankful that the flight was not canceled and thankful for the crew members who made sacrifices to be there so we could safely reach our destination.
When we feel like complaining, it helps to pause and look around us for the things we can still be thankful for. Even with the challenges we face, there are usually one or two things we can be thankful for each day.
According to 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (New International Version).
Some questions to reflect on:
a) What is something in your everyday life that you might be taking for granted?
b) Is there something in your life right now that you find yourself complaining about? What might change if you chose to focus on gratitude instead?
