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Your Gratitude Might Be On Shaky Ground (Impact Hard Devotional: Day 43)

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Unshakeable Foundation

Your Gratitude May Be On Shaky Ground

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”

Hebrews 12:28

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Gratitude has become a buzz word in our culture today. While there is evidence for positive mental health benefits for those who practice gratitude daily (journals, exercises, etc), gratitude in and of itself is not the foundation of a strong man’s life.

If gratitude is tied only to the circumstantial or temporal components of our world, we will find our foundation shaken when our world comes crashing down.

You can be grateful for your health, but what happens when the MRI reveals cancer?
You can be grateful for your marriage, until your wife tells you it’s over.
You can be grateful for your career, until the company downsizes and lets you go.

Health, wealth, family and success are all wonderful things to be thankful for… but make a very shakable foundation.

There is no greater example of this point than the tragic and triumphant story of the Old Testament character named Job. Job’s whole story is the trials of a man whose life was violently shaken until only the unshakable remained. His wealth was stolen. His children died. His health failed. His reputation was thrown in the mud. His wife gave up on him and God. His friends questioned his integrity. Any sense of control and stability that once existed in Job’s life came crashing down.

Job tried to rise up, and honor God and he did better than most of us ever would. Even still, with his world stripped down to its bolts, Job’s questioning of God prompted this bold and convicting question from the Almighty One, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” Job 38:4

Gratitude, like faith, joy, peace, and happiness must be built on an unshakable foundation. Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone of our foundation, and His Word, His Gospel, and His Kingdom are the bricks which can never be shaken. Like Job, we must learn to build our lives on the unshakable things, the firm foundation of God. It is not uncommon to believe your foundation is solid, only to begin questioning everything when your world comes crashing down. The crashing and shaking has a purpose, and that is to make your trust in God even more personal and powerful than you thought possible.

Take comfort in Job’s faith journey, which the Good News version of the Bible translates well, “In the past I knew only what others had told me, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” (Job 42:5)

It may take your whole world crashing down to see that Christ alone is all you can stand on.

Reflection: (Don’t skip this!)

What do I need to know?
How do I need to grow?
Where does this need to show up in my life?

Take the challenge, step up to the task, and watch God transform your life, your relationships and your legacy over the next 75 days in God’s Word.

Join the IMPACT Hard 75 Day Challenge!

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To Equip & Encourage

Your Gratitude Might Be On Shaky Ground (Impact Hard Devotional: Day 43)

Your Gratitude May Be On Shaky Ground

IMPACT HARD | 75 Day Devotional for Men | © 2026

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