Ron recalls a time he was ungrateful for a present he received; a red running suit. Gratitude doesn't come naturally to some of us, and none of us is practicing gratitude to the level the Scriptures suggest. The Holy Spirit is the gift Jesus set out to give to each of us, and paid for with his life. Before that, Jesus is the gift God the Father sent to us at the cost of losing his only Son. Many of us look at these gifts like Ron looked at the red running suit. We have our own ideas about what we want and what we need. But rejecting a gift from God isn't
like rejecting a gift from anyone else; God only gives perfect gifts. And, he not only gives the gift of himself, he gives countless other gifts as part of his promise to lead us into full life. Many people are not experiencing this full life and are willing to try anything to get full life and to find a cure for the worst kind of "less than full life": depression. What if thankfulness is The anti-depressant? Practicing thankfulness can deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the Father, and it can break up depression and lead to the life you've always wanted.
Questions
1 - Have you ever given a gift that was rejected or not well received?
2 - Have you ever felt bad about the way you received a gift?
3 - What is at the core of ingratitude?
4 - How would it change your life to practice gratitude in everything for a month?
Scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "be thankful in all circumstances"
Ephesians 5:20 "always giving thanks to God"
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