be grateful

Part 3 - Attitudes That Make a Great Life

Ephesians 5:18-20

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have difficulty with greed, bitterness, selfishness, self-pity, negativism, or pride? Are you constantly complaining about anything? Are you easily mad about inconveniences in life? Let me tell you your problem. You have an attitude problem.

Do you know God’s way of dealing it? Gratitude. An attitude of gratitude can change those things and literally transform your life.

How often do we need to say “thank you Lord?” Is it only when you’re about to hit another car and it missed and you said ‘thank you Lord.’ Or when you almost missed a flight but you made it then you say ‘thank you Lord.’ Should we only say thank you Lord when we’re spared from troubles or accidents or hassles in life? How often should we thank God?

Today we come to the third and last attitude (for this season) that makes a great life: Be Grateful.

Four Levels of People When It Comes to Thanksgiving

a. Constantly Complaining. These folks are always griping and complaining. Rather than being humbly grateful, they're grumbly hateful.

b. Simply Ungrateful. These are not people who are constantly complaining; they just never give thanks for anything. They take things for granted. 

c. Obviously Thankful. Those who thank God for the obvious blessings, when things are going well and everything is fine.

d. Consistently Grateful. Those who give thanks always for all things. This is the attitude that will change your life.

Let me give you seven principles that will help you cultivate the highest level of gratitude. 

1. Being Grateful Is Proper

Eph. 5:20, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thess. 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Anything that we have today has come from God. We didn't get it by luck, ingenuity, hard work, wit, or wisdom, therefore, it is proper to thank God for it. In fact, it is God’s will that we should be grateful.

Psalm 92:1 ESV, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;”

Being grateful is the most proper thing to do for any believer because it is acknowledging that our heavenly Father always knows what’s best for us--even down to the little problems, He allows us to face. He is in perfect control of everything. 

Psalm 50:23 ESV, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me.”

It glorifies God when we give Him thanks every day. But is also good for us to give thanks every day because it simplifies our lives. Gratitude allows us to be happy and content with what we have.

2. Being Grateful Is to Be Perpetual

Eph. 5:20, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You're not just simply to be thankful one day a year. One day is not long enough to thank God for all that He's given you. His blessings come daily. 

Psalm 68:19, “Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” 

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Thanksgiving should never cease because blessings never cease. Amen? Every day God has brand-new blessings for us, and every day we ought to find reasons to thank God. 

Every prayer that we pray ought to be salted with thanksgiving.

Phil. 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Gratitude helps us see God in every situation of life.

“Giving thanks to God every day motivates us to look for God’s purpose in everything.”—Charles Stanley

3. Being Grateful Is to Be Pervasive

1 Thess. 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Eph. 5:20, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In all circumstances, in everything give thanks. Not in some things, but for everything. Everything, every area of life is to be the subject of thanksgiving. 

There's so much to be thankful for.

• Spiritual things — If you didn't have anything else but Jesus, you would have enough to praise God for all eternity.

• Simple things — You should be thankful for your families, health, food, and even a glass of water. Thank God for the simple things.

• Sorrowful things — You can even be thankful for the heartaches, the pains, and the sufferings. Romans 8:28 says, "...All things work together for good...." That is, the thing itself is not good, but it is God Who is working all things together for good.

• Special things — All the more we thank God for the extraordinary works of His hands upon our lives

Do you want to live on the highest level of life? Cultivate the attitude of gratitude always and in all things. I don't care how bad, difficult, dark, or mysterious things get; take the ultimate step of faith and say, "God, You're greater than this, and I thank You." 

You might say, "Well, I don't feel like thanking Him." Don't thank Him by feeling; thank Him by faith. we're not commanded to feel thankful but to be thankful. Nothing shows your faith in the absolute sovereignty of God more than just simply thanking God in every situation. Amen?

4. Being Grateful Is Powered by the Holy Spirit

Before we are told to give thanks in verse 20, verse 18 says, "...Be filled with the Spirit." Living with gratitude is not a human way to live, not a natural way to live — it's supernatural. And this kind of thankfulness only comes out of a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ through the filling of the Holy Spirit.

One of the evidence that the Holy Spirit is living and actively filling me is I become grateful. I know when the Holy Spirit is filling me because it produces thanksgiving in me always and in every situation.

The Holy Spirit is the substance of it, the source of it, and the strength of it. We are to be filled with the Spirit, and we are to be giving thanks. And that's the only way we can do it.

Whether you're in a prison, as Paul was, or enjoying your birthday party, you can praise God. I'm telling you it will change your life. Bitterness, fear, self-pity, ungratefulness, and negativism will go out of your life if you will practice the grace of gratitude. It's possible when you let the Holy Spirit fill you up.

5. Being Grateful Is a Preference

Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."

To be grateful at all times is a personal choice. We can’t wait for our circumstances to get better in order to be thankful. 

Habakkuk affirmed that even in times of starvation and loss, he would still rejoice in the Lord. Habakkuk’s gratefulness was not controlled by the events around him but by faith in God’s ability to give him strength. 

When nothing makes sense, and when troubles seem more than you can bear, remember that God gives strength. Take your eyes off your difficulties and look to God and choose to be grateful.

Our gratitude must precede our altitude. 

6. Being Grateful Is Peaceful. 

You know what is the biblical antidote to worries and anxieties? It’s gratitude. When we start to thank God about every single thing that He has given us and has done to us (forgave our sins), then God will supernaturally bring peace to our hearts and minds. 

Phil. 4:6-7 LB, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude brings peace to our anxious hearts.

7. Being Grateful Is Pleasurable.

Thankful people are happy people. 

"Well," you say, "if I had something to be thankful for, I'd be happy." You have missed the point! You do have something to be thankful for. You have life. You have Christ. You have forgiveness. You have salvation. You may say, "But my circumstance is not good." 

The apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter, yet he was rejoicing in the Lord. Gratefulness turned his prison into a palace, but ungratefulness can turn your palace into a prison. I'm telling you, the attitude of gratitude will change your life.

Closing

We must choose to give thanks always to God because He utterly deserves of it. But giving thanks benefits us as well, because it brings joy and peace to our hearts. 

Source: 

• Adrian Rogers, Love Worth Finding

• Dr. David Jeremiah, Thanksgiving Is Supernatural_Part 2 - Turning Point, TV Nov 27, 2016, Youtube