Losing the Wonder: The Quiet Cost of an Ungrateful Heart
By Justin Pratt, Clear Springs Baptist Church Senior Pastor
Anything that we don’t receive as a gift, we will eventually treat as a burden. Read that again. Maybe once or twice more. Do you understand it now? This truth can help explain much of the heaviness we carry. Many of the things that we now consider burdens didn’t start out that way. The very things we once pleaded with God for have somehow transformed into our greatest sources of stress. For example, a job we once prayed for may now feel like significant pressure. A home we celebrated can turn into just another project we need to maintain. The marriage and family we dreamed of and once cherished can sometimes feel demanding and challenging. Even ministries that once ignited our passion can dwindle into a heap of exhaustion. These transformations do not happen overnight; they occur when our gratitude fades and we forget that what we have was initially given to us as a gift.
How does this happen? I will say it again: Anything that we don’t receive or see as a gift will eventually be treated as a burden. The joy of a blessing fades when familiarity increases and gratitude decreases. Familiarity is one of the quietest thieves of the soul. It doesn’t storm in with force; instead, it slowly and subtly dulls our senses until what was once extraordinary begins to feel ordinary. The gifts we once celebrated become mere background noise, the people we once cherished become taken for granted, and the blessings that once overwhelmed us with gratitude fade into the routine of daily life.
The great danger of familiarity is that it blinds us to the beauty we still possess. A job may no longer be performed with passion, a marriage may no longer be seen as life’s greatest blessing, and many other things that used to be gifts can end up being overlooked. If we don’t guard our hearts, familiarity will drain the wonder from every blessing and leave us surrounded by miracles we no longer recognize.
If familiarity is an enemy of gratitude, then forgetfulness is its not-so-distant cousin. When we forget how long we prayed for a job or how we yearned for a family, it becomes easy to lose sight of all the gifts that God has given us. By overlooking the miracles behind each opportunity, we begin to treat what we have as mere expectations or routines. The problem usually isn’t the gift itself but rather the gradual drift of the recipient’s heart. What was meant for our enjoyment can turn into something we merely endure, and what we were meant to steward can unintentionally become a source of resentment.
This Thanksgiving season, one of the best things we can do is to simply remember. We should reflect on the prayers God has answered, the doors He has opened, the ways He has provided for us, and the seasons He has brought us through. Remembering these moments helps restore our sense of gratitude. Gratitude, in turn, brings us joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.
When we forget about grace, even our greatest blessings can start to feel like burdens. This is not how God intended His children to live. The gifts from God are meant to feel light because they come wrapped in grace. The Bible tells us in James 1:17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” Remember this: if it comes from God’s hand, it arrives with the grace needed to support it.
Every blessing is a gift, and every gift presents an opportunity for gratitude. If I don’t view something I have as a gift, it may unintentionally become a burden. Therefore, I must carefully guard my heart and mind. I never want to perceive my relationships with my wife or kids, or my job and church, as burdens to bear rather than wonders to enjoy. When we stop seeing what we have as gifts, we inevitably begin to treat them as burdens. The solution is simple: embrace every blessing with gratitude, and it never has to become a burden.
Happy Thanksgiving!
