Take a walk over wooded hills and chances are you’ll encounter a spring-fed, babbling brook, tumbling over rocks and ever-flowing to its mouth.
Just the sound of it refreshes the soul.
Perhaps in his travels, the Apostle Paul encountered spring-fed brooks, and God brought them to his mind as inspiration for this instruction:
Let your living spill over into thanksgiving.
–Colossians 2:7c MSG
Such a lovely image of refreshing, ever-flowing gratitude.
Paul urged his readers to be thankful seven times in the four chapters of Colossians, and forty more times in his other epistles.
Now why would God inspire Paul to encourage gratitude so often?
Surely God wanted us to discover that when we seek to be thankful, we find our trust growing. Look at all these wonderful ways God is blessing and investing in my life, we begin to realize. He IS a good and loving Father; I CAN depend on him!
Perhaps Paul himself had learned: the more we thank, the more we see to be thankful for.
“The grumbler undoubtedly sees few blessings;
The grateful person finds blessings everywhere.
In fact, blessings seem to find her.
J. E. Yoder (1)
I also like Warren Wiersbe’s reason for cultivating gratitude: “When a believer is abounding in thanksgiving, he is really making progress!”
Surely this was one of Paul’s strong desires—that all Jesus-followers make progress toward becoming all that God intends them to be.
But gratitude doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes we’re more likely to be overwhelmed by our worries than overflowing with thankfulness. Or we’d rather talk about our woes in order to gain sympathy than share our blessings in order to encourage.
So how do we open the channels of our hearts to let gratitude flow?
We might begin with a daily (perhaps hourly ) habit of giving thanks for the benefits we enjoy—no matter what our circumstances—even if the family is in turmoil, or friends have proved unfriendly, or trouble has dropped in our laps.
As noted, ever-flowing gratitude refreshes the soul.
Perhaps we could begin with these five blessings:
- The indescribable gift of Christ and all he offers
- Rescue from the powers of darkness
- God’s glorious attributes at work in our lives—his goodness, grace, compassion, and more
- The precious, life-changing truths of scripture
- God’s constant presence with us (2)
Of course there are many more. We’d do well to keep a written list of such ever-present blessings, ready to refer to when the flow of our gratitude is blocked by disappointment or discouragement.
And at the top of the list we might copy this wonderful reassurance:
There is always good because there is always God . . .
Even when nothing else around us is good,
his presence in the midst of our deepest pain
is a good gift indeed.
Aliza Latta (3)
Picture a glass of water so full it will not hold another drop. Now what if you bump against it? The water is bound to spill over. Similarly, when trouble bumps against us, what’s inside will overflow.
Out of an angry person will come anger, out of a fearful person will come fear, out of a self-centered person will come self-pity. (I have been all three of these people at one time or other!)
But a grateful person? He/she overflows with gratitude, cheering and soothing the soul like a babbling brook. In addition, their trust in God grows and greater maturity develops. Best of all, their thankfulness delights God.
As the Lord loveth a cheerful giver,
So likewise a cheerful thanksgiver.
John Boys (4)
* * * * * * * * * *
O Father, keep me mindful that no matter what I face, there are ALWAYS reasons to rejoice. I don’t want to give in to anger, fear, or self-pity. I want my living to spill over into thanksgiving—a superior way to spend my days and bring you glory as well.
Notes:
- Our Daily Bread
- 2 Corinthians 9:15; Colossians 1:13; Psalm 145:7-8ff; Psalm 119:72, 93, 103; Psalm 23:4
- Take Heart, 16
- Dean of Canterbury from 1619-1625, quoted in A Puritan Golden Treasury
Photo credits: http://www.youtube.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.canva.com.
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From the Inside Out 
It is true, gratitude in all circumstances is necessary. It is also true that being grateful changes our perspective; it changes us. Thanks for this post.
Thank you, Robert. Gratitude is surely good medicine, just like laughter (Proverbs 17:22)!
I know exactly what you mean, Nancy. When I start the day thanking the Lord (quoting Scripture, even promises I haven’t seen fulfilled yet) it changes my mindset.
Once when I was driving alone from Louisville to Michigan, I decided my prayer time was going to be all thanks – no asking for anything. I thanked the Lord all the way to Cincinnati! When I stopped, I’m sure people wondered who this lady was, pumping her gas with a silly grin on her face.
I love it, Annie!
Nancy, this did my soul good. When I’m freshly nudged about gratitude, I sometimes also feel nettled over the classic glass metaphor (which half am I now?), perhaps partly because whether half full or half empty, the measuring image I conjure seems static. After reading this (and “Annie’s” testament, thank you!) I want to refocus on the glass in action, the vessel upended, Love’s ceaseless replenishment pouring “through”. . .
From posts you wrote several years ago while enduring an ongoing trial I’d say your glass is full of faith and perseverance, Laurie!
I love this post! These words are so true: “when we seek to be thankful, we find our trust growing!” We have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for the encouragement! 🦋
Thank you, Bridget. We do indeed have much to be thankful for. I want to be one of those people who sees more than she misses! My gratitude journal and “God is Faithful” journal (begun in 1983!) help me live more attentively.
I am so thankful for God’s kindness pulling us out of our sinful funk to open our eyes to His goodness and to birth that spirit of praise in us. Recently, I got to go “home” to New Zealand to see my family, after 4.5 years apart. I came home from that visit and my eyes opened to God’s gifts everywhere – I hadn’t realized how caught up in sin I was and how I had let unbelief take root. I was diagnosed with a chronic heart condition about 1.5 years ago and it felt like one too many blows. But I was looking at the seen and not the beautiful unseen. I was agreeing with the enemy’s accusations of condemnation. But when I got back from NZ, everything changed because I came home feeling so unconditionally loved and treasured. I didn’t realize how much I needed God’s kindness.
It’s then I heard God repeat His question to me: “Do you want to get well?” And this time I stopped looking at myself (thinking I just can’t anymore) and instead looked to His strength for me and said yes.
I am now off all heart meds, breathing through episodes my capillaries contract and my heart is deprived of oxygen – trusting God in those places of less air and no longer giving in to fear. I have also lost a lot of weight having found a doable form of exercise (I used to run 3 to 4 times a week, also at athletics club but can’t do that anymore because of my heart condition). Pilates and breathwork is teaching my body to relax and to be still and know God is God 😊. And I am keeping a daily “glory journal” of all the ways I see God’s glory unfolding in my midst.
Now my thankfulness is different. I count my blessings in God uncovering my sin and leading me to bless, rather than curse my body (that cursing is at the root of so much sin in my life). So now when anger surfaces, I am thankful to Jesus for uncovering another place my heart needs an infilling of His Holy Spirit and Word and new sight. I used to count my blessings and it blessed me, when I did, but my glory journal is a different way of approaching it – it’s seeing the hard stuff as the blessing in its uncovering of God’s sweet understanding, love and compassion for me.
What a glorious testimony of God’s faithfulness, Anna! Thank you for sharing your compelling story. Also, I LOVE your idea of a glory journal. I’m adding that to my list of possibilities when current journals are either complete or I feel prompted to write in a new direction. Thank you for sharing that too!
On my Sabbath break from blogging, God gifted me 31 poems about His glory unfolding in our repentance. As I began to publish it on my blog, He invited me to begin recording His glory unfolding each day. I am only a few days in and already have 35 different things recorded. I love going back to re-read the list too 😊. I know if/when you try it, you will love it too. His grace to us and for us is glorious.
BTW I absolutely love that Scripture you start with. That really shows that true whole-hearted thankfulness springs up from Jesus inside of us. It’s His heart of kindness that releases His heart of praise in us, lifting off the weight of this world from our shoulders. I think I am going to put that Scripture on my fridge. It’s all Jesus 😊. Oh may His kindness pour out on us, His Body, more and more, leading us to more and more repentance and our hearts awaken to more and more of His gifts all around us.
That scripture caught my attention, too. (Eugene Peterson had such a unique way of paraphrasing scripture!) And Amen to your wonderful insight, Anna. EVERYTHING comes from God and through God; all things are for Him (Romans 11:36). That would include our gratitude. It’s a reciprocal process: the more we know God, the more grateful we become; the more grateful we become, the more intimately we know God (because we see his attributes at work everywhere).
YES! It is a reciprocal process and if I don’t take Him up on His invitations, I miss out on what He has for me. Praise God for His redemption. When my eyes opened I was so grief struck. But before I could wallow in shame (and make it all about me again 😅), I heard Him say: “Haven’t I been talking to you about my fullness of redemption and your double portion in Me: this is it, Anna. My heart broke for you in your sin and now I am going to show you how you can redeem the time in Me and unfold that double portion for you.”
God is SO good to us, Anna! Your story is proof!
I have always loved this concept Nancy. I especially like your glass full of water illustration. So true. My dad used to use the hitting thumb with hammer illustration. Whats in you comes out.
I used to tell groups on extreme wilderness trips that they would find out what they were made of and what was in them secretly might come out.
If gratitude comes out, that’s pure gold spilling over.
I found that glass-full-of-water illustration meaningful also. But your dad’s hammer-to-thumb illustration is perhaps even better! And what a great lesson (out of many, I’m sure) you included with your wilderness trips. I like your idea of golden gratitude, Gary–an image that might lend itself to an allegory!
Great post of gratitude! God laid this “everyday topic” on my heart as well when I posted a blog post this morning!!
Very encouraging!!❤️
Yes, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we’re all more likely to check our Thank-O-Meter! So glad you found encouragement here, Alicia. Now I’ll hop over to your blog and see where this topic took YOU! 😊
❤️
Well you’ve been a great encouragement throughout the year for me to remember to practice gratitude because of your posts that beautifully point to the importance of thankfulness!!😉
And thank YOU for your encouragement to me, Alicia!
Aww, my quiet time in the Word this morning kept leading me to “Springs of Living Water.” Tears of gratitude here. ❤️ And thanks so much for the soothing sound effects. A double blessing! (But who’s counting? I lost track.) ☺️
I’m honored that this post brought tears of gratitude to your heart, Deb. Praise God for his inspiration! You’ve got me thinking: just as Jesus provides “springs of living water” in our spirits–his salvation, presence, peace, joy, and more–we can proffer springs of our own for him: praise, worship, and gratitude. This too is a double blessing as he blesses us and we seek to bless him!
Yes, that’s beautiful, “proffer springs of our own for him: praise, worship, and gratitude.” That’s how I want to live!❤️
I love this quote you shared:
“There is always good because there is always God . . .
Even when nothing else around us is good,
his presence in the midst of our deepest pain
is a good gift indeed.” Aliza Latta (3)
There is always God! How very blessed we are, no matter what swirls around us. This blog, your words, have blessed me tremendously this morning, Nancy. Thank you! And my you and your family have a very special and blessed Thanksgiving.
It warms my heart that this post ministered to you, Patty. If I remember correctly, Aliza was widowed at a young age, left to raise two or three little ones alone. To read those words in that context, is irrefutable proof of the power of God’s presence! (A few years later, even though she wasn’t looking and had no interest in marrying again, God brought another very special man into her life. He is now her husband.)
What a beautiful grace story!
Good reminders to give thanks – always!
Yes indeed, Barb. And I need those reminders! Just a while ago I began to spiral downward into negative thoughts, and the Spirit whispered in my heart, “Didn’t you just recite Philippians 4:8 this morning during your quiet time?” Ah, me!
Thanks for the Spirit
This is a wonderful pre-Thanksgiving post. I will strive more to treat every day as Thanksgiving Day. And, I pray your prayer for myself; and that the Holy Spirit is using me to lead others to Christ. Thanks, Nancy.
Praise God he gave us the powerful emotion of gratitude that positively impacts us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It’s the wise person who makes every day a Thanksgiving Day. (I’m striving right beside you, Cheri!)
Oh my, thanks Nancy, for your blog. When you mentioned the babling brook, I am always reminded of the peace that quiet brook brings and it did not matter what country you were in or what rhe circumstance were or your frame of mind. It reminds me if the Brook Cheroth where he recovered from depression while hiding dmfrom the angry king. The brook was a soothing sound. Thank you Nancy!
Sam
I’ve never fallen asleep near a babbling brook as Elijah did. But the sound of it surely soothed him, as you say. I imagine him expressing gratitude to God for supplying his needs during the beginning of the drought.
Thanks for the encouraging post on Thanks! Gratitude is always the right response with powerful effects, as you said…” ever-flowing gratitude refreshes the soul. ” And it can improve attitudes, too. Even attitudes of others who see us being thankful. Blessings to you, Nancy, today!
Good point, SimplyB. A grateful attitude provides positive impact to those around us. And thank you for the blessing which is already being granted. One of our sons and his wife are visiting with us this week, and we’ll enjoy the company of twelve people tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. May you also delight in the joy of family and/or friends tomorrow!
Just the sound of that babbling brook made me breathe deep and smile. Amazing how God’s creation speaks right to where we are, Nancy.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with rest, hope, and celebration, friend. I’m grateful that we get to do this blogging life together …
And a happy Thanksgiving to you, Linda! I’m also delighted to have become acquainted with you here in the blogosphere. You always provide worthwhile content–good truth to ponder and/or good principles to apply, plus your lovely photos to enjoy!
so much truth to your lovely words!
Thank you, Jean. Your encouragement means so much!
Thankful that God has gifted you with encouraging words.
Praise God you find encouragement here, Carolyn. It’s always my prayer that each post provide uplift for others, so the encouragement really comes from the Spirit!
I am an optimist by nature but never thought of it as something to be grateful for. Seeing the positive in things fosters a natural attitude of gratitude. Accordingly, I am puzzled by those who show interest in or even pursue what is wrong and negative around us (and is this human nature?) For these lost souls, it would take a restored belief in Him to walk in the way Paul’s letters instruct us.
I agree–a naturally positive outlook makes it easier to develop an attitude of gratitude. For some it takes more effort. Those of us who know Christ and seek to live by his wise ways should find our thankfulness growing year by year.