“Gratitude is foundational to healthy faith! It is the ingredient that changes everything and I believe it is the thread that should be woven through every fabric our being if we’re going to have a healthy faith.” – Ps. Garett King
“Gratitude is an offering, precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and not be poorer, but richer for having made it.” – A. W. Tozer
(Psalms 100:1-5).
A Psalm of Thanksgiving. Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful.
Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, The How of Happiness,
performed a thought experiment on what determines happiness.
Most people would think that circumstances would most likely
determine happiness, but according to Lyumbomirsky, Genetics (A disposition
toward happiness passed to us by our parents) accounts for 50% of what makes us
happy. Life circumstances (Outside
influences on our lives) accounts or only 10% of what determines happiness.
Intentional activities (Our thoughts and actions – our attitude) account for
40% of what determines happiness.
“What we believe would make a huge difference in our lives, actually, according to scientific research, makes only a small difference, while we overlook the true sources of personal happiness and well-being.” – Sonja Lyumbomirsky
By studying happy people Lyumbomirsky compiled a list of Habits
consistently found in people who are considered happy:
2. They practice optimism
3. They are physically active.
It’s not surprising that more optimism, more gratitude and
even more physical activity can lead to greater happiness.
(Romans 12:2)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Think about this: Our
sinful nature has been passed to us by our parents. If genetics accounts for 50% of what makes us
happy. That sinful nature is redeemed by
salvation. In addition, our thoughts and actions are renewed,
(made new) which accounts for 40% of our happiness. If you do the math, this makes it possible
for a committed Christian to be able to make use of 90% of what makes us
happy. So, the 10% that comes from our
circumstances should be irrelevant in the eyes of a believer. So, whatever
circumstances we’re going through shouldn’t affect our gratitude. In any circumstance we have the ability to
rejoice in Christ.
“It’s not happy people who are thankful; it’s thankful people who are happy. – Janice Kaplan author, The Gratitude Diaries
The Bible commands us to rejoice in our circumstances:
(Deuteronomy 26:11)
So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
(Psalm 5:11)
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
But that can never happen unless gratitude pervades every
aspect of our lives.
(Psalm 100:4)
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
The key or the password to enter into His gates is
thanksgiving (gratitude).
Paul writes from prison, to declare to the church in Philippi
(Philippians 4:4).
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
The word gratitude has all three tenses associated with it. There’s always something to be grateful for: Something God did; something God is doing; and something God will possibly do in the future.
Why
Aren’t We More Grateful
If we know that the key to a happy life is gratitude then
why aren’t we all living a life saturated with gratitude. Here are some key
reasons:
1.
The
Mentality of Entitlement – Seems to be the spirit of our age. Free this, free that – It’s my right as an
American. I’m Entitled. Pastor Alfredo Barron as he was being made an
American Citizen was overwhelmed by the thought that he was about to become an
American citizen and partake in freedoms that, in his words, “to which I shed not
one drop of blood to gain these freedoms that are now being freely given to
me.” He was grateful that he was being given this freedom and didn’t have to
pay for it. Gratitude!
The same is true of our
salvation. We didn’t shed one drop of
blood for Salvation, but so many look at our salvation as an entitlement. We
take it for granted. Look at the Price that was paid for it.
(Matthew 27:27-31)
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.
(Mark 15:33-37)
Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!" Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down." And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.
Crucifixion is the most brutal form of execution created by
man. He suffered that for us!
2.
A Bad Memory About the Good Things – Sometimes
we can forget the bad and remember the good, or we can forget the good and
remember the bad. It depends on your
thinking. This is why Gratitude has to
be a habit, you can’t be passive with it.
God warned the Israelites about
this.
(Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Remember the Lord
your God…gives you the ability to produce wealth. It’s not howe good a businessman you have
taught yourself to be, it is God who gives you wealth!
James said every good thing comes from God.
(James 1:17)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Everything we have is a gift from God but without the habit
of gratitude we can forget that.
(Psalm 100:3)
Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Reminding us that He is God, we are not God. Gratitude is an expression of your dependence
on God.
Ingratitude is a sin.
(Psalm 106:6-7)
We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.
What did they do wrong?
They forgot. They forgot all that
God had done to bring them out of Egypt.
They forgot that God had delivered the.
They forgot that God had mercy on them.
(Romans 1:21)
because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Iniquity flows from the thankless heart. Ingratitude is a root of all sin.
“Sin is cosmic ingratitude.
It gives the delusion that you have the ability to conduct and hold your
life together.” – Tim Keller
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Three spiritual imperatives.
Three things that affect your attitude and reflect your concept of God. We are commanded:
1.
Rejoice always – Can you, have you always lived
this out? The only way to rejoice always
is by the grace of God. In bad times
only by His grace can we rejoice.
2.
Pray without ceasing – How do we do that in our
modern world? Prayer is the means by
which we rejoice, a continual conversation with God.
3.
In Everything give thanks – In Everything? Even the bad stuff? If we don’t have that habit of gratitude,
it’s easy for our prayer lives to become nothing buy grumbling and complaining.
The habit of gratitude guards your prayer life. It is the thing that allows you to face the
difficulties and disappointments of life.
Jonah runs from God’s calling to Nineveh. God stops him with a storm. The sailors throw him into the sea and fish
swallows him. While he is in the belly
of the fish Jonah begins to pray. Look
at his prayer:
(Jonah 2:9)
But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD."
He is giving God thanks for deliverance while he’s still in
the belly of the fish.
How could he give thanks while he’s stillin the belly of the fish? Because he knows that he would have drowned
had God not sent the fish. God delivered
him from drowning by interceding with the fish.
So, he knows that God will deliver him from the fish also. So, he is able to thank Him by faith. That faith is expressed by gratitude.
Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)
13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Good advice.
Developing an active habit of praise is essential for a committed
Christian.
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