How Does Expressing Gratitude Change Your Perspective on Circumstances?

It is common in human nature to look at our circumstances and react to them. Our reactions aren't always godly ones and especially in hard times we tend to focus on the hard time rather than trust in God. A long time ago, I made up my mind that I needed to be grateful each and every day just to be alive. Each time I pray I thank God for my life first and foremost. Right now as I type this we are going through extreme hard times and in the midst of this I try to maintain a spirit of gratitude and to see the blessings rather than focus on the hardship. It is hard sometimes. Just recently with hurricane Helene it brought to my heart more gratitude than I ever could imagine for myself. I have no room whatsoever to complain at all. Some of these people that went through that hurricane are going through probably the worse thing they have ever gone through. I ask myself, how would I react to such a thing? Would I be able to express gratitude had I gone through it? How can one be grateful to lose everything they have ever built for themselves? How can one be grateful when they have lost loved ones through such a tragic event? Gratitude is probably not the first thing on their minds and I am not sure it would be on mine had I gone through such a thing. My circumstances right now are tough and I have been through tough times before. God has always gotten us through. And being the gracious and merciful God He is, He has gotten us through the hardest of times even when we had no gratitude in our hearts. But I have learned through the years that if I express gratitude even for the slightest thing rather than murmur or complain it helps me to maintain joy in the midst of the hardest of times. When I express gratitude it proves that I trust God completely and my circumstances are not my focus, but instead He is. And when my focus is on God it is easy to find lots of ways to be grateful. My circumstances do not seem overwhelming when there is gratitude in my heart. And just like with this recent hurricane, there is always something worse to compare my hard times to. God always keeps before me reasons to just be grateful.