It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of gratitude over focusing on what we lack.
Elisabeth Elliot's quote highlights a crucial choice in our mindset: to cultivate gratitude for the blessings we have rather than dwelling on unfulfilled desires. By choosing thankfulness, we can establish a positive and fulfilling habit that shapes our overall perspective on life, ultimately leading to greater happiness and contentment.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one could use this quote to inspire the audience to focus on gratitude.
We are not asked to SEE," said Amy. "Why need we when we KNOW?" We know--not the answer to the inevitable Why, but the incontestable fact that it is for the best. "It is an irreparable loss, but is it faith at all if it is 'hard to trust' when things are entirely bewildering?
Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between His will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer.
What sort of world might it have been if Eve had refused the servants offer and had said to him instead, βlet me not be like God. Let me be what I was made to be - let me be a woman'?
Worship is not an experience. Worship is an act, and this takes discipline. We are to worship ''in spirit and in truth.'' Never mind about the feelings. We are to worship in spite of them.
Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.
If your goal is purity of heart, be prepared to be thought very odd.
Don't let the sun go down without saying thank you to someone, and without admitting to yourself that absolutely no one gets this far alone.
I want to thank God, obviously for the health, for the talent He's given me, for my family who supports me, for the things that basketball's taught me on and off the court. For the people that I've been able to meet through the game of basketball.
What I suddenly understood was that a thank-you note isn't the price you pay for receiving a gift, as so many children think it is, a kind of minimum tribute or toll, but an opportunity to count your blessings. And gratitude isn't what you give in exchange for something; it's what you feel when you are blessed--blessed to have family and friends who care about you, and who want to see you happy. Hence the joy from thanking.
No gesture is too small when done with gratitude.
I give thanks to God and to all the people in the U.K. who have supported me over the years.
Thanks are justly due for boons unbought
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