Gratitude: Our Secret Weapon

Have you ever thought gratitude could be our secret weapon? There is no denying that life can feel challenging at times. You may be even now going through a hard time with finances, or relationships, or health. And at this time of year in particular, any family struggles seem to radiate pain more than ever. Over time, these difficult situations can wear us down. If we don’t see change in our circumstances, we can sometimes grow weary in prayer and contending. 

I think God offers us a solution in the midst of such times. The solution is called praise and thankfulness. The solution is not denying that the situation, whatever it may be, is happening. It is just repositioning our heart, turning it toward God in such a way that He can give us what we need during this time. Remember, God never promised that we would not have difficult paths to walk, but He did promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us. 

If you think about it, that is a pretty big promise. God is saying I know you will face trouble. However, I, the God of the universe will take your hand and walk with you through this process. I think for God it is more about what we can learn as we walk with Him through a difficult process than it is about getting to the other side of the problem. 

I think this picture of praise, gratitude, and thanksgiving is exemplified in Psalm 100. In the Passion Translation the Bible says beginning in verse 1 -3, “Lift up a great shout of joy to Yahweh! Go ahead and do it – everyone, everywhere! Worship Yahweh with gladness. Sing your way into his presence with joy! And realize what this really means – we have the privilege of worshiping Yahweh our God. For he is our Creator and we belong to him. We are the people of his pleasure.”

This first part of the Psalm is exhorting us to stir up our gratitude toward God. Sometimes when we are beaten down by life and circumstances it is too easy to focus on what God is not doing rather than what He is doing. God is always on the move. In your life, if you allow Him, He is always on the move on your behalf. What is Satan’s job? To convince you otherwise. To point you to all the circumstances that God could be taking care of but isn’t. 

Satan’s tactics have not changed since the Garden of Eden and Eve. Satan is called the deceiver for a reason. He can be quick to be the voice in our ear that says did God really say? Can God really be trusted? Why isn’t he fixing your situation? Does he really love you? If we spend too much time listening to that voice, we can definitely be led down a path of destruction. 

However, if instead of listening to that voice we turn and praise God, then we are positioning our hearts to receive what God has for us. As the scripture says, we have the privilege of worshiping God. I think nothing blesses God more when He knows we don’t understand our circumstance, but we choose to praise Him anyway. I would consider choosing to sacrifice our understanding to praise God is the true meaning of the sacrifice of praise.

This Psalm continues with verse 4, “You can pass through his open gates with a password of praise. Come right into his presence with thanksgiving. Come bring your thank offering to him and affectionately bless his beautiful name!”

The Hebrew word for gate that is used in this verse actually has multiple meanings. According to The Passion Translation, another meaning is storm. As in, when you pass through his gates, you enter into the stormy, passionate love of God. 

I think this is a beautiful picture of God. As we worship God, we pass into the gates of God’s presence. And you know what is in His presence? God’s passionate love for us. If you have never just sat and asked God to show you how much He loves you, I highly encourage you to do so. It will change you. There is absolutely nothing like God’s presence and His rich and passionate love for His children.

Once when I was in a Sunday morning service at my church, I was praising God along with the rest of the congregation. I had my eyes closed and hands lifted. As I worshiped, I saw this beautiful radiating light all around me that I knew represented God’s love for me. As I worshiped, I saw this big hand come down and start plucking these things off of me that seemed to be stuck to me. At closer examination, I realized that the things God was plucking off of me were lies. They were lies the enemy had told me that were trying to stick to me. As I praised Him, God was taking the lies off me. There absolutely is power in praise.

The Psalm concludes with reminders of who God really is and that God always keeps His promises. Verse 5 says, “For Yahweh is always good and ready to receive you. He’s so loving that it will amaze you – so kind that it will astound you! And he is famous for his faithfulness toward all. Everyone knows our God can be trusted, for he keeps his promises to every generation.” 

This is why gratitude can be our secret weapon. When we feel down or discouraged, we have the ability to choose to praise God. When we choose to praise him in the midst of very difficult circumstances, we are saying to God I don’t understand, but I know you love me and that I can trust you. I know that you, God, are for me and not against me. I know you, God, can use any circumstance Satan fashioned for evil against me and turn it around for good. That, my friend, is a powerful tool against the enemy. 

I encourage you during this Thanksgiving season to praise God for everything that is going well in your life. Find things to thank him for. Maybe even make a list in your journal. It doesn’t mean you have to stop praying and contending for other circumstances. However, when you begin with gratitude, it will also position you to see your circumstances the way God sees them. Remember friend, God is always for you, never against you. He loves you more than you can understand. Practice coming before Him with gratitude. It can be your secret weapon against the enemy.

For more on the topic of Gratitude check out these other blog posts.

Why Gratitude is Important to God by Lisa Granger https://lisamarcelina.net/why-gratitude-is-important-to-god/

 Gratitude Practices to Change Your Life by Ashley Olivine https://ashleyolivine.com/gratitude-practices/

 Living with a Daily Attitude of Gratitude by Dianne Vielhuber https://simplewordsoffaith.com/living-with-a-daily-attitude-of-gratitude/

Everyday Gratitude by Jessica Weaver http://www.rootedunrooted.com/blog/everyday-gratitude