Stewarding Gratitude In A Difficult Season By Howard Rich

Your Choice No Matter How Difficult It Gets

Several years ago, I was going through a difficult season of leadership. Resources were tight, the team was stretched, and a key project was not producing results. I remember staring at a long list of problems one morning, feeling genuinely discouraged.

During this stormy time, I had breakfast with a close friend who asked me a simple question: “What are you grateful for today?” I was caught off guard. Gratitude was the last thing on my mind. Yet as I began to answer, something shifted. One by one I named the gifts in front of me — faithful colleagues, a clear mission, a God who had not abandoned me. The problems on my desk had not changed. But I had.

It’s a Choice

In the Psalms, we find this invitation,  

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”

Psalm 100:4

Gratitude is not merely an emotion we feel when things go well. It is a posture we choose, a discipline we practice, and — I would argue — a stewardship responsibility.

As steward leaders, we hold everything on loan from the Owner, including the gifts we so easily take for granted: our health, our teams, our organizations, our next breath. When we fail to acknowledge these gifts, we are not stewarding them well. Gratitude is how we honor the Giver behind every gift.

God’s Will

Paul calls us to this practice,

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I Thessalonians 5:18

Notice he did not say give thanks for all circumstances, but in them. A thankful heart is not naive about hardship — it is anchored in the unchanging goodness of the Owner.

A Gift to Steward

Gratitude itself is one of those gifts to be stewarded. Peter writes,

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

I Peter 4:10

A thankful heart is not meant to be hoarded or kept private; it is grace entrusted to us, to be cultivated, expressed, and passed on. When we steward gratitude well, we keep our eyes trained on the Giver and not on the problems around us, which sets us free to lead from a heart of gratitude.

The Challenge

What gift are you taking for granted today? Name it, thank God for it, and let that gratitude shape how you lead

Howard Rich is the CFO of Amazi Water and the President of the Center for Steward Leader Studies. Howard is a life-long advocate of generous living. He desires to see Christians lead from a heart of stewardship and generosity.