As someone who would describe herself as Eeyore rather than Tigger in the personality stakes, I would not say that thankfulness is an inherent part of my nature. I remember, however, being extremely challenged as a young Christian when I discovered Eph 5:20 (‘Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’) Not only are we commanded to give thanks always and in all circumstances (1 Thess 5:18), we are commanded to give thanks to God the Father for everything.
I had to wrestle through this verse for some time. How could I give thanks to God for things that were blatantly evil? How could I give thanks to God for things which were completely contrary to what I had prayed for? How could I give thanks to God for things that I vehemently hated?
I squirmed and wriggled my way through these difficult questions to reach the conclusion that God could issue us with this commandment because He is good through and through and is able to bring good from every circumstance He allows into our lives. (Rom 8:28) Throughout life, we can give thanks for everything – even the tragedies, heartache, loneliness, hurt and devastation we experience at times – because we know that God will have the last word and no plan of His will be thwarted.
Thankfulness is, therefore, a habit to be cultivated, something which grows the more we practise it. I don’t always feel thankful, but the actual giving of thanks is something we do as a conscious choice, an act of the will, not of the emotions. Giving thanks is probably one of the most important spiritual things we do, shaping our characters because we recognise God in everything as we learn to give thanks in and for everything.