Meditations on Gratitude

I write this article in a time where almost the entire world is experiencing what many would consider to be a great disruption in our lives, the COVID-19 pandemic has charged onto the global scene forcing all of us into our homes and our economies to a grinding halt. One may ask, “Why choose to write this article now, isn’t it late due to the fact that many of the simple things we were grateful for have now been placed out of reach?”

What I am about to propose to you about gratitude will hopefully not only deepen your joy in and love for your Creator but also deepen your relationships with others and guard your thoughts and emotions during this time of isolation. My aim is to present to you a gratitude that forces us to take God and each other seriously, dispelling the flippancy and love for triviality that floods our culture and media in this day and age. My hope is that your joy would increase through gratitude and you would be given more weapons in the fight against the forces of evil in this age.

In keeping with the idea of battle, I borrow an excerpt from a 1985 sermon by John Piper titled “Guard Yourself with Gratitude”:

“Imagine for a moment that your city is surrounded by enemy forces who aimed to destroy you. And you are aware that enemy sympathizers live and work in the city with a view to undermining the city’s defenses. And suppose you discover that there is a song which the enemy and their sympathizers cannot tolerate or approach. Whenever they hear it, they pull back and run the other direction.”

This song, of course, is thanksgiving to God. Thanksgiving guards our hearts and minds from the schemes of the enemy and the lusts of the former self, it does that primarily by anchoring our joy and satisfaction in God. When we are deeply satisfied in God and that satisfaction is expressed in thanksgiving to God, the siren songs of sin lose their luster and we are protected.

It is worth noting, that gratitude is an exclusively Christian device since gratitude for a gift implies gratitude towards a Giver. This is where we find protection from treasuring things or relationships over God; think of a young woman who is recently engaged, although she enjoys wearing her new engagement ring and she may rightly think it is a beautiful ring, she would not, in her right mind, treasure the ring more than her beloved, thus the ring works to serve her joy by turning her to her beloved with joy and gratitude. The beauty is that although we are grateful to Someone else (namely, God) for a good thing they have done, the gratitude itself actually works for our joy, our joy in God increases and we are bought to a true appreciation of the good gift He has given.

Gratitude works to ground us in the present, it causes us to look at our current surroundings and appreciate them or at least appreciate that God is with us in our trials. True gratitude is also has a seriousness to it, a seriousness that is largely unknown to many in this age. It is true gratitude that causes someone to look their friend dead in the eye without any joking or silliness and tell them “I thank God for you.” This kind of gratitude is serious about joy.

The lockdown has been a great inconvenience to many in our nation and world, we may be tempted to join in with the hordes of those who simply complain about the current situation. May I suggest that we chart a different path? I suggest that we stop, take a deep breath and express gratitude to our Father for our very existence. You may not feel grateful for very much right now, pray and ask the Lord to stir your heart with thanksgiving and then express gratitude as you can, you may find that your heart starts to steadily increase in thanksgiving. Gratitude is a wonderful and necessary tool to have in this time to guard our hearts and minds, ground us in reality, help us to truly enjoy life and relationships and points us to our Maker, who gives us Himself and every good thing to enjoy.