Recalibrate: Part 1- Start with Gratitude

A devotional series about reviving your heart, renewing your mind, and restoring your soul

Yvonne Marie, M.Ed.

Jul 14, 2023

There’s a video that’s been circulating the web for a few years now of a mother who surprises her teenage daughter with a new car. The mother walks into the house and tells the daughter to put on a blindfold because she has a surprise for her. As a viewer of the video, you might expect tears of joy and big hugs, but instead, the young lady scoffs and whines when she removes the blindfold and discovers that her mom bought her a Tesla instead of the Mercedes she really wanted. The teenager doesn’t only display disappointment but completely disrespects her mother in the video. There were people in the comments of the video who just could not believe this was real, it had to be a skit for clicks. While this girl and her mother may have been acting for views, there’s no doubt there are teenagers, kids, and adults all over the world with ungrateful hearts.

Have you ever caught yourself entertaining a sense of entitlement? I’m talking about the kind of entitlement that crushes humility and says, “Hey, I deserve this!” even though you did nothing to earn it. I have. But the truth is it is only by God’s grace that I live, move, and have my being (Acts 17:28). This doesn’t negate the fact that I am a hard worker or that I have made good decisions in my life. But there are many people all over the world who have the same work habits and decision-making strategies as me but haven’t had the opportunity to live the life I’ve been given. I’ve also made numerous poor choices throughout my life, yet I’m still here. When I start to examine the bigger picture, entitlement has no place, I can only fill my heart with humble gratitude.

A lack of gratitude is the result of thinking exclusively about oneself, which presents a narrow point of view. A person who refuses to consider the wider scope, the bigger picture, or the “eagle’s eye” view will succumb to navel-gazing. Ungratefulness is the breeding ground for a host of negative thoughts.

When you plant seeds of gratitude, you reap a harvest of positive thoughts. Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that you should suppress your negative emotions only to display false positive expressions. That’s called toxic positivity. I am also not referring to a medical chemical imbalance that goes far beyond one’s own control and results in serious self-harm. Such cases should be evaluated by a professional. What I am saying is it's worth considering the negative thoughts that take up residence in your mind when you lose sight of your blessings. If you want healing, harmony, and peace, you must determine what to do with your thoughts so that you can come out of ungrateful entitlement into humble gratitude.

Having a mindset of gratitude is a game-changer. There could be various outside factors in your life over which you have no control, but you do have a choice to shift your perspective. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8 ESV, my emphasis). Here is a list of questions that may help you to examine your thoughts:

What are you choosing to think about?
Why aren’t you choosing to “think about these things”?
What are you watching on T.V.?
Whose social media pages do you follow?
What music are you listening to?
What types of conversations are you having?
What kinds of books are you reading?
Are any of these things causing a cycle of negative thoughts and ungratefulness?

It’s hard to believe that your mind can be easily manipulated, but there are so many entities that want to grab hold of your mind. And one of the first signs of their success is a lack of gratitude within you. Ingratitude starts in the mind and infiltrates the heart, which may lead you to act in a way that displeases God. Think about it, ungrateful people harbor greed, jealousy, and envy, which may lead to the following behaviors:

being a poor steward of what God has given
dishonoring their elders
becoming takers instead of givers
talking negatively about other people

One thing always leads to another, and that is just how the enemy would have it. But God commands that “we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV). As you read this verse, I want you to consider the arguments and pretensions that go on in your mind. How can you take your thoughts captive?

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.- I Thess. 5:18
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.- Col. 3:17
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.- Col. 3:15-16
A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. - Psalm 100:1-5

When you sow seeds of gratitude, you reap a positive mindset. Here are a few practical things you can do to boost your sense of gratitude:

Praise God! Start with the above scriptures and meditate on the goodness of God in your life. Remember His steadfast love and kindness. Play music that reminds you of God’s love toward you.
Appreciate those who have blessed you. Make a prayer list of any and everyone who has touched your life in any way, big or small. Remember how they helped you, prayed for you, or brought joy to your life. Pray for them.
Count your blessings. Write about God’s grace in your journal.
Help someone. Doing something for someone else helps you to see the bigger picture.
Feel the sun on your face. Take a walk and choose to appreciate the goodness of God. Take a breath and meditate on Acts 17:28.

“In him [I] live and move and have [my] being…”