Gratitude

Definition: thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness

Gratitude is a matter of having the right attitude. And attitude is everything! Knowing who we are and what we have as a result of being in union with Jesus Christ should cause us to be grateful. As we grow up spiritually, our gratitude will also grow. If we understand that our lives are in God’s hands and that He will direct our paths if we choose to allow Him to, we can have gratitude in any circumstance of life. (Colossians 2:6-8)

We must also learn to be grateful for even the hardships in life. Quite often these situations are used by God to teach us valuable lessons. They can also reveal areas of weakness with which we need to deal. How we handle these hardships can be a springboard to advance us in the Christian Way of Life by increasing our faith in God and our dependence upon God. A life of gratitude also prepares us for gratitude in death. (I Corinthians 15:54-57; I Thessalonians 5:18)

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph (victory) in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (II Corinthians 2:14)

Jesus Christ our Example

When we make the choice to know Jesus Christ not only as our Savior, but also as our example, the standard to which we are to achieve, we will discover the right attitude that we are to exhibit. By following Christ’s example, we can be victorious. According to God’s Word, Christ who is God, set aside His deity in order to become a man. We call this in Theology, the Hypostatic Union. As the God-man, Jesus Christ made the choice to humble Himself and obey God the Father’s plan of salvation. This plan called for Jesus Christ to die on the cross as a substitute for each of us. Jesus Christ went to the Cross in a state of perfection having lived a perfect (sinless) life as a human being, utilizing the filling of the Holy Spirit. This same power is ours as believers in Christ, given to us in order to live a victorious life. (Philippians 2:6-7)

Christ’s obedience to the Father’s plan is an example to us to do the same. Did Christ complain about or find fault with the Father’s plan? Of course not! His attitude was one of humility and obedience. Jesus Christ had a personal sense of destiny. He knew exactly what the plan entailed and willingly executed it. We should be grateful that He did, because it was for our benefit, not only for salvation, but also as an example of how to live the Christian Way of Life. (Philippians 2:5-16)

Scriptural Example

We find a wonderful story of gratitude in the Book of Luke, Chapter 17. In verses 11 –19 we find a story about Jesus and ten lepers. As Jesus is passing through a certain region of Samaria, He enters a village where He comes upon ten men with leprosy. The lepers cry out to Jesus for healing, so Jesus heals them. The story of gratitude or lack of it is that of the ten who were healed only one turned back after seeing that he was healed to gives thanks, and the Bible says that he was a Samaritan. Why is this significant? Remember, Jesus was a Jew and Samaritans were Gentiles and there was great hatred between the two races. But as you see, the grace of God transcends all racial barriers. Jesus came to seek and to save all who were lost. The real healing for this man came in verse 19 when Jesus said that the man’s faith had made him whole. He received spiritual healing and physical healing for which he was truly grateful.

Attitude

Our attitude is a mirror into our soul. God’s Word is very clear on this subject. We are told time and again throughout the Scriptures that are to do everything without grumbling and complaining. (Philippians 2:14-15)

You will recall the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness. It took them 40 years to make an 11-day trip. Why? Because they had bad attitudes! They continually complained to Moses and blamed God for everything they didn’t like along the way. The result was that they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. (Book of Numbers)

An attitude of gratitude and an attitude of grumbling, complaining and fault-finding are mutually exclusive. Our attitude lets us know whether or not we are trusting God in every situation. Life is not always easy but trusting God should be. After all, doesn’t He have the best in mind for us? (Ephesians 4:29-32)

When we complain, we are voicing dissatisfaction and discontentment with our situation to God. Therefore, we are complaining about what He is or is not doing, instead of trusting Him and using the Faith-Rest Technique. I wonder if we have considered that when we have a complaining and worried attitude, that we are actually criticizing God? Is this not the height of human arrogance? We cannot be trusting in God and complaining and worrying at the same time. Remember many situations that we face are of our own doing, not God’s. God however will often use these situations to teach us valuable lessons. And God is always there to help us through these situations. An attitude of faith brings victory in every trial or test we face. If we pass the test with a good attitude, we have benefited ourselves. God never tests us beyond what we can handle, but we don’t know what we can handle until He tests us. And just because we can handle our situation doesn’t mean that we will handle it correctly. Proper application of the truth that we have learned from the Word of God is the key to victory in any test. (I Corinthians 10:13; I Thessalonians 5:18; I Peter 4:12-14)

Romans 8:28, “For we know that God causes all things to work together for good to them that love Him, to them who are the called according to His purpose”.

This verse applies only to those that love God and are pursuing His purpose for their life. Those that love God are those who have come to know Him by a consistent study of His Word. Therefore, we see the importance of learning, believing and applying God’s Word. So, this verse applies to those who are maturing in their faith. Maturing in your faith, as we have studied, means you are moving through the various stages of spiritual growth on your way to spiritual maturity. Once you advance to spiritual maturity, you will continue to grow as long as you are learning, believing and applying God’s Word. Therefore, we shouldn’t agonize over where we are on the “maturity scale,” but just do what God asks us to do day by day, moment by moment. For those who are not maturing, God is unable to work all things together for their good. The reason is that they are not choosing to allow Him to do so. Instead, He is most likely disciplining them in an attempt to get them back on the right path. Once on the right path, God can begin working all things together for their good and His glory.

Contentment

A part of gratitude is being content with what you have. God warns against a lustful attitude and encourages us to be satisfied with what He has already provided. His promise to all believers is that He will never leave us nor forsake us. God knows even before it happens what each of us will face in life, and He has made every provision for us. Our responsibility is to exercise our faith by always giving thanks regardless of circumstances, knowing that God is working things out to benefit us. (Philippians 4:11; Ephesians 5:20; Romans 8:28)

Is your primary goal in life to acquire wealth? If so, it may come at the expense of your spiritual life. God’s Word says, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” We know that as believers in Jesus Christ we can’t lose our soul. However, we can lose our victory in the Christian Way of Life by wrong priorities. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” What is it that we have that we have not received from God? We came into this world with nothing material and we will depart with nothing material. The real gain in life is to know Jesus Christ and to glorify Him as His ambassadors. (Matthew 6:24-34, 16:26; Hebrews 13:5, I Timothy 6:6-7)

I Timothy 6:6-11 in corrected translation, “But integrity in the Christian Way of Life is great profit which brings contentment. For we came into this world with nothing and it is certain we will take nothing out. But be content or satisfied with having food and clothing. But they that strive to be wealthy fall into many foolish and hurtful fleshly desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, which those that have lusted after it have been seduced away from the faith and have pierced themselves through with pain. But you, person of God, flee these things and rather pursue righteousness, integrity, faith, love, patience, meekness.” Where are you on the gratitude gage?

“Gratitude is the Fairest Blossom which Springs from the Soul”