I still remember when I was young, my parents always taught me to say thank you to someone who gave me something. When I go to bed, my parents would even make me memorize the prayers and then in the end of the prayer, give thanks to God for what he has given me. Now that I think about it, its just good manners to give thanks when somebody gives you something.
It’s like when we are all little children. We give thanks to the things that are present and can be seen. “Thank you, For the… “ That is the first stage of gratitude. This is the preschool stage for saying thanks. For example we thank God for the food that we are about to eat. We thank our parents when they give us things. Basically, we thank someone for what they have given us that is present and that can be seen.
The next stage for saying thanks is when we give thanks for the presence of God. While Moses taught us how to say thanks for the things God has given us. David teaches us to give thanks, in another way which is more advanced than the one before. This can be seen through Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
“Even though…” For example, even though I am afraid of the unknown things that may happen, I still want to give thanks for the opportunity that was given to me. Even though I am heart broken, thank you for the chance to feel loved by someone. These are just examples of what David taught us, that even though we have struggles and problems and in the midst of all the chaos,we still give thanks and fix our eyes on Jesus. This can be seen further on Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5
Lastly, the most advance of giving thanks is “Because of…” This can be the most difficult thing to say because it is thanking God for everything in our life. The bad and the good experience that we have, we give all our thanks. For example, I wanna thank you Lord for every ingredient that you have in my life, I know that whatever you make up in my life will be something good overall. This part of gratitude is not as easy as it sounds, because it is thanking the Lord for each and everything he gave or he didn’t we still thank him anyway, we give him our complete TRUST in our lives and believe everything is for the better.
Always remember that All things work for the glory of God and that you do not have to feel grateful to be grateful.
Special thanks to S. Furtick for inspiring me to write this from his video, Graduating in Gratitude.
Heart Enthroned 
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