Rust-colored leaves scatter from the trees, layering the ground with hues of orange, yellow and brown. The crisp, autumn breeze mingles with the aroma of a crackling fireplace. Pumpkin Spice Lattes, college football and crockpot recipes are all reminders that fall is in the air.
This is the time I often reflect on the condition of my heart in regard to thankfulness. I’m convinced the extent of my gratitude is evidenced by the words I speak. And the truth is, I’ve been catching myself voicing complaints before thanks.
I Thessalonians says it’s God’s will for us to:
Rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. (5:16 NIV)
Always rejoicing, continually praying and being thankful in all circumstances doesn’t come naturally to us, does it? So how do we do this?
I believe the answer is found in the verse itself.
Rejoicing, prayer and thanksgiving all work together to fuel each other much like the three necessary components of a fire. A flame ignites when fuel, oxygen and heat join together in a chemical reaction. Fire will burn until one or more of the components are removed.
On a recent women’s retreat, they announced Victory Circle would be cut short because they couldn’t get the campfire going. That is, until my friend, a former firefighter, came to our rescue. She took a large piece of cardboard and began to strategically fan the fire all around until the flames were so high we had to step back.
In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to remind Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” He wanted his friend to persevere and use his gifts to boldly share the gospel.
Sometimes I need to do just that with my heart. I need to rekindle the embers of joy, prayer and gratitude that have been snuffed out by stress and trials in life. I need to remember where my hope comes from.
REJOICE
No matter what difficult experience we encounter, there’s always joy to be found in our salvation. Click To Tweet We have the hope of eternal life by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His presence is available to us at all times! When we rejoice in our relationship with the Lord, we fuel the flames of gratitude.
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fulness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
PRAY
Prayer turns our thoughts away from our complaints and troubles and onto the Lord. Click To Tweet
We can maintain a prayerful attitude throughout the day by turning our worries into prayers and remembering His majesty and power. Prayer rekindles the flames of joy.
GIVE THANKS
Being thankful for the blessings in my life helps me foster an attitude of gratitude. However, this verse doesn’t say to be thankful for all things but in all things. When hard times come we can be thankful in sorrow because God is with us. He uses our trials to make us mature and complete.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything. (James 1:2 NIV)
Another interesting fact about fire is that it spreads when heat energy is passed by direct contact from one object to another. This process is called conduction.
Do you know anyone who exudes a loving spirit of joy and positivity? Our attitudes are contagious. We can choose to spread the flames of criticism, griping and complaining or kindness, encouragement, and thankfulness.
This season, I want to cultivate an attitude that spreads God’s love to others.
Embracing God’s everlasting love and abiding in Him ignites the joy of our salvation and refuels the embers of faith.
The next time you find yourself complaining, remember you can fan the flame of thankfulness by rejoicing in your salvation, spending time in prayer and thanking God for His everlasting love.
Hello there! I'm Valerie, a mom of four and wife of 27 years. My writing inspires others to cultivate courageous faith and find solace in trusting God, especially in moments of fear and uncertainty. Join me on this adventure as we explore the beauty of trusting God when we are afraid. 
Your tweet caught my attention and I had to come read what you wrote. What a great picture of how we can fan the flame of thanksfulness…God so deserves our gratitude. Good words. 🙂
Awe, thank you so much for hopping over to read the post! God is certainly worthy of our praise and gratitude!
Love the scriptide you added about igniting our gifts. So beautiful and true! It is what God wants us to do. Great post Valerie! As always. ; )
Thank you so much Carmen! You are such a blessing!
“We can choose to spread the flames of criticism, griping and complaining or kindness, encouragement, and thankfulness. ” I love this. At times, I forget my negativity can be contagious, especially with my students when I find I do not have the energy to give them my all. I will have to do better tomorrow.
I’m working on this too, Brittany. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Thank you for the reminder that gratitude, thanksgiving, must be intentional. And when we are deliberate in our praise to God, we are liberated to receive even more blessings from our Lord. Blessings for your day!
Thank you, Alice. It’s so true that we need to be intentional to give thanks when we are tempted to complain and see life from a negative lens.
Love this one, Valerie!
Fan the flame of thankfulness!
Oh, may we do more of this!
What a great quote, “Prayer turns our thoughts away from our complaints and troubles and onto the Lord.” Amen!
Thank you Melanie! Let’s fan the flame of thankfulness!
Thanks for a lovely explanation of how rejoicing, praying and giving thanks can bring an entirely new perspective on our faith. Enjoyed reading this story and it will help me to remember how to flame the fires of my faith.
I’m so glad this encouraged you Myra. Thank you for your kind words. God bless you!
Hi Valerie
Love your post. Such a wonderful comparison between fire and thankfulness. Thanks for the push to fan my flames of tthankfulness. We all need that time to time.
Bless you,
Lureta
Yes, I need it too Lureta! Thank you for visiting today!
Great post Valerie! I love the reference to fire! So good and when I see fire in the future I will remember this.
Blessings!
Grace&Truth
Julie
Thank you Julie! Have a great day!
Great post, fanning the flames of thankfulness across the nations, I’m here in Canada 🙂
That’s wonderful, Sherry! Have a blessed day!
I love the analogy of fire and gratitude! So many similarities! A heart of gratitude spreads so much hope and is such a weapon against defeat!
Love this, friend ♥
Lori
Hi Lori! I love that. Thankfulness is a weapon against defeat. So true!
“Rekindle the embers of joy…” I love this especially as Rekindle was OneWord for 2016. Thanks for this uplifting reminder today, Valerie!
Stopping by from #GraceAndTruth~
What a great word for 2016! Thank you for commenting, Meghan.
Oh girl, both of your “Tweet This” quotes … so, so good!! Thank you for the wonderful reminder to adopt an attitude of gratitude every single day. <3
Thank you Lauren!