Gratitude In Hard Times

Are you giving thanks in everything?

It can be difficult to cultivate gratitude when going through financially hard times. Pretending to be grateful when you’re not isn’t spiritual. It’s hypocritical. It’s good to sincerely look for reasons to be grateful. Even thanking God with empty hands can strengthen us enough to keep going. It puts our thoughts back on God and off of our circumstances. The Prophet Habakkuk said:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer’s;
    he makes me tread on my high places.” (Habakkuk 3: 17-19)

I’ve found this to be so true. Every small challenge, disappointment and frustration is an opportunity to experience God’s goodness. When we press on with thankful hearts, our character is strengthened. This results in hope for the days ahead. It’s genuine hope that then enables us to face bigger challenges, obstacles, disappointments and frustrations with greater resolve and prolonged durations of perseverance. We don’t give up. Hope builds our strength so that we can press on. We face financial setbacks with resolve. Many of our problems are the result of violating Biblical principles related to money. Our egos are deflated when we can’t provide and our security is threatened. So we confess our mistakes, repent, and learn to steward money God’s way.

In my new book Seven Gray Swans, I describe potentially significant events that could happen. A gray swan’s an obvious danger that we tend to ignore. My goal is to show you how to prepare for and survive these economic threats. The ebook is available now at Amazon.com.