Series: It's All Good
Message: The Art of Gratitude 
Preacher: Dena King
Daily Walk: Dena King

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 110.

Read: Luke 17:11–19 (Message). Note 1–3 insights or questions that arise from the paraphrase. 

Reflect: This morning at work, a couple walked into the shop and the girl was clearly upset. They were looking for a pair of sunglasses to replace the pair she had lost. I asked what had happened and she explained that she was wearing them on her shirt when she leaned over to flush the toilet and the sunglasses just slid on down, not even clogging the toilet. She was really angry and upset about it. One of her friends phoned and she repeated the story. “Two hundred dollar sunglasses, can you believe it?” As she was trying on new pairs, I asked her about the old ones so I could help her pick out something similar.  When I asked if they were new, I expected her to say, “I just bought them for this trip!” Instead she said she’d had them for a year and a half, but that made it “so much more awful” because she was “attached to them!” “This is absolutely the worst thing that could have happened on vacation!” she said.

I tried to console her and sympathize, but I found it hard not to laugh at her statement. I’ve had some pretty bad things happen when I was on vacation. I was in another state when I learned that my dad had suffered a heart attack. Another time I was away for Christmas and learned that a family member had been hit by a drunk driver and was badly injured. There have been lots of times when I simply couldn’t afford a vacation at all. There were worse things I could imagine than losing a pair of Ray-Bans. The girl finally left the store saying that she couldn’t buy a new pair today. She just wasn’t in the “right place” to replace the sunglasses she loved.  I got the impression that the rest of her vacation truly was ruined because she was so focused on what she had lost. 

I believe the reason we are commanded in the Bible to “give thanks in all circumstances” is because if we don’t, we will miss all the good there is to see, even in hard times.

Recalibrate: ​​​What “bad” events in your life are you thankful for now that you have the gift of hindsight and perspective? When we are told to give thanks in all circumstances does that really mean all circumstances?

Respond: Pray for perspective on a difficult situation in your life.

Research: Keep a running tally of how many times you say “thank you” today.