Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. – 1 Chronicles 16:24 (NLT)
Have you ever been scrolling on your phone, looking at all the images of other people? And then as you see how great the lives of other people appear to be, you begin really feeling sorry for yourself.
You begin to see that don’t have as good of clothes as she does. Maybe you realize that you don’t have a cute of a girlfriend as he does. And you see all the ways your life doesn’t measure up to the lives of others.
One of the hardest things to do in life is to be thankful. It’s difficult to practice thankfulness when you are bombarded with ads constantly reminding us of all the things you don’t have. If you’re not careful, you can begin to let unhappiness take root in your heart because you’re so focused on what you don’t have.
Today’s Challenge: Be Thankful
One of the best ways to combat unhappiness is to be thankful. When you’re being thankful, it’s not that you’re denying that there are things you don’t have. Rather, it’s choosing to focus on the things you do have.
It doesn’t matter how hard your life is right now, there is something you can find to thank God for. It might be something as simple as thanking God that you woke up today. Or that the sun is shining. But each day, there is something you can find to thank God for.
God is good.
God is good, He loves you and wants to be your source through everything you face. So today, challenge yourself to be thankful. Realize that simply knowing Jesus is a reason to give thanks. Yes, we face challenges in life, yes there are times when it feels like everything and everyone is against us. But if we choose to focus on thankfulness, it helps us.
So today, if you’ve become unhappy, determine to change your focus. Instead of always thinking about the things you don’t have, practice thankfulness for the things you do have. There is always something you can thank God for!