I had a quick conversation with a friend last night, and they had asked if anyone can be thankful and yet lack joy?I thought it was an interesting question because there are so many grey areas to it. I didn’t ask for the particulars on what was happening, but that I’d pray for her over this situation.

The Bible states that the life of a christian will not be an easy one, and I don’t know of any sincere disciple that hasn’t had dark days. And being imperfect, we can hold onto the impact of struggle or strife, even to a sinful level. In a black & white world, it’s a "no-win" situation - Life will be difficult, but to wallow or cry about it, is selfish. There is only whining, or worshipping. Whatever happens, is God’s Will.

I just thank God that He has a lot more grace than a "black & white" scenario. He shows us more grace than we deserve.

Look at the dark cloud graphic I used above - What do you see? Seriously, think about it - I’ll wait. Most of you will probably say "dark clouds, duh!", and that’s where our focus will remain throughout the day. But what we may fail to see is the light that gets thru, in spite of the dark clouds. Ever wonder why we we’re affected by dark clouds during the day, but could care less about them at night? Our sin makes us prone to see what we lack, what we don’t have, and what’s wrong in our lives.

I know for me, complaining is my default response… complaining that’s usually in the form of dripping sarcasm. Now I’m not casting away any responsibility, but it doesn’t help when we are a rights-oriented culture, and if we don’t get what we think is rightfully ours, we physically, mentally, or emotionally storm off in despair. It’s common when we fall into the sin of entitlement or discontentment, right into anxiety or depression. And in the end, all we’re left with at the end of it all is hearts that are weighed down by dark thoughts & unmet expectations. And to top it all off, we’ve put "dark clouds" over our minds.

So, to answer my friend’s question, I guess you can’t have true joy without first being truly thankful. Otherwise, you’re focus would be on the light in spite of the clouds. So maybe we need to reevaluate our gratitude. God calls us to be thankful people, and it’s that very gratitude that can change our lives. And hopefully, these six, simple ways can help one find joy through gratefulness.

First & foremost, we need to go to God’s Word and restrengthen our spirit. We need to meditate on the verses that regard gratitude, and commit them to memory.

I remember (and have blogged about, in the past) about the Israelites. I (mistakenly) categorized them as "idiots" because they had God, they had prophets, they had witnessed miracles, and yet their faith ebb & flowed like the ocean. It blew my mind. Until one day, when God revealed to me that I am just like the Israelites… maybe worse. Unlike the Israelites, my faith not only changed with the tide, but also the sun & moon, and wind.

We are susceptible in forgetting all that God has done for us, especially those "time" when God came thru in such a way, and we promised that we’d never forget what our Lord has done…. And yet, we forgot. It’s ok, but it’s not ok to stay this way. Write these moments down, journal them, use them as quick testimonies that we share with others. People we share these stories with, will be encouraged, and it will also stir up gratitude In our hearts, for Him.

I apologize for using that term, but it fits with what I’m about to say - Instead of venting your daily frustrations, look for reasons to rejoice. As cheesy as "an attitude of gratitude" sounds, it makes sense because without it, we are an infectious, complaining spirit.

And following #ShutUp, it leads us to the need to change how we react to things. As psychologically-hokey as this may sound, our hearts & minds play an important part in how we see (and react to) things. We need to change how we approach happenings by asking ourselves, "What can I be grateful for, with this?" I remember seeing in the news, and quite often, how victims, and victim’s families, publicly forgive the offender, even if they took someone away from them. They remembered the time that they had with their lost family member, and thanked God for that time. This is a great example of gratitude, even in the midst of loss.

Write down 3-5 things that you are grateful for, as soon as you sense that you’re your personal ride on your downward spiral (pity, despair, anxiety, …) Sometimes, we forget the simple things like a warm mug of whatever on a cold day, blooming flowers… One of my favorites is lying in sunspots thru a window on a cold fall day. Listing our blessings can be something quite transformative - it takes abstract ideas and helps them to become more solid & helpful.

Faith can be strengthened when we see God answering a prayer, when we notice the fruit of patience when we don’t "cry over spilled milk", or through things like that. When we stop looking inwards, and look to what God has done for us, we can begin to see the joy that’s already in our lives.

I started today’s blog off with my friend in mind, but hope that this helps everyone who may be thankful, but yet not feel joy. I guess we need to take a sincere look at what we’re grateful for, and then bluntly ask ourselves what may be preventing us from seeing joy. I guess we need to find out if we’re seeing the clouds, or the light that’s around us.