The Gratitude Experiment

God has already planned a way that is best for you and though yours is specially customized for you, still the Bible has outlined a general way that’s best for every single person to follow. One such instruction, found in 1 Thessalonians, concerns gratitude. In this regard, Apostle Paul said this,

“Be thankful, whatever the circumstances may be. If you follow this advice you will be working out the will of God expressed to you in Jesus Christ.” 

(1 Thessalonians 5:18 Phillips)

God’s desire is that you express your gratitude – be thankful – no matter what. God does not want your life and your happiness to be defined and dictated by your circumstances. Listen, if being thankful is God’s will, that means it holds great importance to Him and therefore should be a top priority for you. You must always strive to do the will of God in your life, even Jesus Christ, on His way to the cross, said to God the Father, “…it is not My will, but Yours, that must be done.” 

 (Luke 22:42 Phillips)

Indulge me today as I explore a bit, with you, the will of God as it pertains to gratitude by linking other Scriptures that deal with God’s will to 1 Thessalonians 5:18. After which you and I are going to conduct an experiment over the next three months. 

It’s said that it takes at least two months for behavior to change, so I figure in ninety days we should be well on our way to habitual thankfulness. Really and truly the numbers aren’t that important what matters is for us to get started. Please keep in mind that this is by no means an in depth study, just a simple experiment that will have beneficial results for everyone who participates. 

Now 2 Peter 3:9 lets us know that it’s not God’s will that any of us should perish, from this let’s deduce that expressing gratitude will not be to our detriment but that something great is bound to come out of it. These days human beings seem so hard pressed to say thank you. Sadly, ingratitude has become the rule and not the exception.

Looking at Romans 12:2 we can say that to give thanks is good and acceptable and perfect in God’s sight because it’s His will. Also, Mark 3:35 demonstrates that saying thank you qualifies you and I to be in relationship with Jesus as His siblings because it is the will of God.

Please note that expressions of gratitude must be heartfelt and sincere not an exercise in shallow lip service (see Mark 7:6).

Recognize that even in suffering according to God’s will we need to be thankful because there’s always a reason for our suffering and through it His purpose will be fulfilled (see 1 Peter 4:19). In other words those trials and challenges that you face should never stop you from giving thanks. Be in a state of constant gratitude. Tough but doable, else God would not have told us to do it. Remember, His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I believe that living in a constant state of gratitude will have a very positive effect, first on the grateful person and as he or she changes everyone around will also begin to change. Sincere gratitude promotes genuine all round happiness all the time.

In order for this gratitude experiment to work we have to share this blog post, asking family and friends to participate and after three months, we’ll testify to our individual findings. I hope you’re up for the challenge, it’s worth a try. 

Thank you for joining me, and thank God for what is about to happen in, with, for, and through, all of us.

Amen†

The Gratitude Experiment    Shelley Johnson 27-Aug-16