Scriptures: 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Luke 17:11-19

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Acts 16:22-30
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

These passages encourage us as followers of Christ to have a grateful posture towards the Lord. In Thessalonians we see the author encourage the church to be thankful regardless of circumstances. As Jesus’s disciples we should constantly and continually look to God and what He has done in our life. Turn our eyes to the good things God is doing in and through us. 

We see how easy it can be to lose sight of gratitude in the story from Luke's gospel. Though Jesus heals 10 lepers, only one had the thought to go and praise Him. This highlights that we find it so easy to focus on the problems, jumping from one to the next rather than stopping and looking at how God has made a way through the problem and brought us out of our struggles. And if it’s easy for us to overlook or forget God in the big things He does for us, how much more so in the small?

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be honest about our circumstances, when life is hard we don’t need to pretend it isn't, however we do have the opportunity to control our perspective. It’s easy to let our thoughts and fear dominate our feelings and this can leave us feeling isolated, neglected and without hope. The truth is, even in the darkest hours of our life, Jesus is with us, he sees us and knows the pain and struggle we face. This was true for Paul and Silas and they knew it. Even though they had been beaten, mocked and thrown into prison they knew the Lord was with them and watching over them. Despite what looked to be the worst of circumstances they were able to maintain perspective and offer up praise.

What is one thing today that I’m genuinely grateful for—and why?

In what areas of my life am I tempted to grumble or take blessings for granted?

How does gratitude shift my focus from what’s lacking to what’s abundant?

When has God shown up for me in a small but powerful way?

What can I thank God for in the middle of a hard situation right now?

Spend time now talking to your heavenly Father. When you pray, try starting with simple thanks. You don’t need fancy words—just be honest and personal. You can even do this in your head if you don’t feel comfortable saying it allowed. Here’s a way to think about it:

If you are needing wisdom, guidance or directions, pray that He will show you these things then seek them out. Open the word and read through the Proverbs, or stories from the Old Testament, read through Jesus teachings in the gospels or through the letters of the new testament. Choose one to read, let the Holy Spirit Guide you in this and then consider how you can incorporate these teachings into how you live, act and behave.

Don’t do it alone, talk about these things with your friends, ask them any questions you have and hear what they have to say. Doing life and faith with others is how we sharpen ourselves, we never grow out of needing this.