Question: How can I stop complaining so much and remember to be more thankful?

Answer: Start by taking a few moments right now to thank God for the many blessings in your life! Ask God to forgive you for all the times you’ve failed to give Him the glory for your life. Our Heavenly Father knows that none of our lives will be perfect, for only Jesus Christ lived a perfect life. God knows that we often have to deal with frustrations and disappointments. He knows that we can find these times hard to deal with. He has given Believers His Holy Spirit to live in us, and to guide and strengthen us as we deal with these challenges. It’s through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can learn to live the “thankful” life during both good times and hard times.

God commands us, as Believers, to be obedient to His Holy Word. He wants us to live our lives to please Him. Multiple times in His Word, He lets us know that part of being obedient is being thankful. For example:

-In Psalm 92:1, His Word tells us that “It is good to give thanks to the LORD…” (NKJV)

-Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”

-Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

-First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

So, we see in these scriptures and in many others why God wants us to be thankful. He wants us to value and appreciate all that He has done and continues to do for us because He loves us. Of course, we are to be most thankful for the ultimate way God showed His love for us: by giving us His Son, Jesus Christ! (Read John 3:16)

Believers are thankful that God gave us Jesus to die on the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins and that Jesus rose again on the third day to live with God forever in Heaven. We are thankful that we’ve accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, have asked Him to forgive us of our sins, and have repented of our sins to also be able to live in Heaven one day.

For these reasons and many others, we have so many blessings in our lives for which to be thankful. God wants Believers to be thankful at all times – when things are easy and even when things are difficult. He wants Believers to remember that He loves us and is always with us.

Through the power of His Holy Spirit in us, we can live the “thankful” life!

Updated and reposted from my November 12, 2022 blog post.

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