Can a thankfulness mindset be accomplished when there is so much negativity around us? Wars are happening worldwide and the political atmosphere is tense. Or there is drama at home or at work. You may be dealing with some hard things in your life – divorce, loss of a job or loved one, or kids who are not following the Lord. How does one remain content during these times of trials or difficulty? Some situations need more time to process or heal, but a thankful mindset will help bring you that peace to get through it all.
What is a Thankful Mindset?
Vocabulary dot com defines mindset as a “habit or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.” It is essentially a thankful mindset that one can have all the time for each and every situation. Being thankful in every circumstance is God’s Will for us.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
Worldly Distractions of Thankfulness and Contentment
There are things that distract us from thankfulness and contentment in our lives. One way we can be distracted by this world’s things is when we neglect spending time in God’s Word. This can keep us from being thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 ESV
When we spend time in the Bible and dwell on the words and what they tell us about God’s character and how He thinks of us, then it produces thankfulness in our hearts. We teach others about who God is and what He has done for us. And out of thankful hearts, praise will spill forth from our lips in worship of God.
How Giving Produces Thankfulness and Contentment
In 2 Corinthians 9, we learn about sowing and reaping with blessings. And then about giving with a cheerful heart (vs 6-7). When we do this, God gives us grace in abundance. That grace overflows within us so that we are sufficient, or enough in God. That ‘enoughness’ allows us to be content in everything we do.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV
I love that verse! God gives us ALL we need to be content in everything we do.
God Provides and Multiplies
Paul continues in this passage about the multiplication of our resources and how this produces thankfulness.
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:10–11 ESV
When we do His work, he provides for us. He is the supplier of the needs and multiplies it so it can reach everyone that it needs to.
I have found this to be true in this ministry business of God’s Plan Guided Steps and Contentment Matters. When I first started this ministry, there was a steep learning curve and the followers were few. God let me know that He was in charge of the numbers and would grow and multiply them. And He has done that! For example, my email list isn’t twice or three times what it was when I started. But it is 27 times what it was!! That is God’s multiplication for you!
God supplies and multiplies. The result of that is a harvest of rightness AND thankfulness. Yes – I am so thankful for how God’s multiplication works and how I am NOT the one in charge of the numbers. By being thankful for all that goes on behind the scenes, I am content that God has me doing this ministry for a reason and it is reaching who it needs to reach. PTL!
How are you doing in your giving? Not just monetarily but of your time and resources to help others? Be a cheerful giver in what you do for God and for others. He will multiply your efforts and do more than what you can think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
Thankfulness Mindset Challenge
Do you wake up each day and thank God for the day? I have a plaque on my wall that states, “Start each day with a grateful heart.” I spend time in prayer each morning and in God’s Word. Part of that time is praising God for who He is and giving thanks for all the ways that He cares for me and my family. And then I present requests to Him for my husband, children, and their families (aka our grandkids), my extended family members, friends, ministries that we are a part of or support, our nation, and the world.
Some days, I am a bit cranky, and regardless of the circumstances that I find myself in, I choose to be thankful to God for what I am experiencing.
Do you wake up with a grateful heart? Are you thankful that you woke up and have air in your lungs? I have a friend who is struggling with pain in her body. She says that her first prayer in the morning is, “Thank you, God, that I woke up and am alive.” It isn’t a prayer for the release of the pain. It is a prayer of thankfulness that God has chosen to give her another day on this earth to praise Him and allow her to minister to whomever she meets in her day or at work.
Fragrant Aromas
Do you have a favorite smell? Things I like to smell – fresh baked cookies, flowers – roses, lilacs, vanilla. A steak cooking on the grill or my husband’s smoker with pulled pork that’s being cooked.
We can be a fragrant aroma to those around us.
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV
What are you doing in your day to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God to those around you? I pray that as you have a mindset of gratitude you are sharing that with those you meet- whether in your household, work, or even others you encounter out in public.
Rejoice in Your Work Devotional
Do you need a devotional resource for getting you into God’s Word daily? Or an inexpensive gift for a friend. Here is the link to grab the book on Amazon in print or ebook format. It is available on other retailer’s websites too. Check it out by searching through your favorite web browser.
Have you already bought the book? Wonderful, thank you very much! One thing you can do to help me out is to leave a review of the book. This helps get the book rated higher on Amazon and Google. Never left a review before? I got you! While you are on the Amazon link to the book, scroll down to the customer review section. On the left is a section called: Review this product. Click the link “Write a customer review.”
Thank you for considering leaving a review. It will help us greatly.
