What if you awoke this morning and the only things you had left
were the things you thanked God for yesterday what if you awoke this morning and the only
things you had left were the things you thanked God for yesterday how would you fare
you know I am convinced that God is more concerned with us being grateful
than just about anything else do you understand that if you were to wake
up every day and go down the list of things and just tell God what you're grateful for
don't wake up a single day without going down the list of things you're grateful for
it could be something minute what God does in return is he gives you more things to be grateful for
because he's a very wise and generous God right if you're not grateful for the things I've given you
and you have no gratitude for it and that seems to be really mundane to you it's burdensome why
would I overload you with some more stuff that you ain't grateful for if you just walk up every
day and just thanked him for just all the things you can go down the next day the very next day
I promise you that he'll give you more to be grateful for you'll be stunned just change that
one little thing show gratitude and then watch him give you a whole lot more stuff to be grateful for
it's not a day that I'm not able to add something else to the list what would happen if before you
left the house in the morning you just took a moment and bowed down and said God I just want
to thank you for today I want to thank you for helping me I believe I can do whatever I need to
do today through Christ who strengthens me I'd like everything to be good and work out the way
I'd like it to but God if it don't I know you're with me and it will work out good eventually
what would happen if at noon in addition to having a little sandwich you'd go somewhere and bow down
for a minute say God I just want to thank you for getting me through the first half of this day
and I'm so grateful God that you're working in me and you're gonna and then again in the
evening or at night during the day make a habit of just stopping during your busy day and say
I am thankful for what are you thankful for I'm thankful that I have breath in my lungs I'm
thankful that I have a great marriage I'm thankful that I have a job I'm thankful for you you have to
decide what you're grateful for but all during the day just be intentional about stopping during the
day several times and say I'm grateful for this when you arrive home anytime I arrive
home after a trip in my car I always say thank you father for a safe trip you know what it's a
small thing but I'm thankful that I didn't have a car crash gratitude is the door to God's presence
gratitude and thanksgiving is the door to God's presence and we read this so clearly in Psalms 100
and verse 4 it says enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise
be thankful to him and bless his name enter with thanksgiving thanksgiving is how we enter
into God's gates it's how we enter into God's house so every time you pray start with
thanksgiving every single prayer you pray start with thanksgiving every single day start with
thanksgiving because that's how we enter into the presence of God gratitude is a daily choice now
watch this enter his gates with what thanksgiving how do you get to where he is how you get there
you got to go through the gate to get somewhere how do you get to the love and the joy and the
peace and the hope and the encouragement and the blessing and the healing and the deliverance of
God how do you get there thanksgiving is the door you go through Psalm 118 says open to me
the doors of righteousness I'll go through them I will praise the Lord I'm telling you gratitude and
worship a grateful heart is the way to where God is gratitude is a constant mindset of thankfulness
it's more than just saying thank you every once in a while to God or to people it's an attitude
of gratitude that you make is your lifestyle God wants us to respond to everything that happens
in our lives with an attitude of gratitude first Thessalonians 5:18 always be thankful
in all circumstances for this is God's will for you now always be thankful in all circumstances
that about covers everything right there's no loophole there always be thankful in all
circumstances where this is God's will for you now if you obey that God says I'm going to bless you
in every area of your life and notice that he says this is God's will for you God's will for
your life say I want to know God's will for my life God's will is that you are always grateful
you're always thankful you're always full of the attitude of gratitude thank God in everything
no matter what the circumstances might be
be thankful and give thanks be thankful and give thanks for this is the will of God
you know so many people want to know what God's
will is and something he put on my heart probably 30 years ago is
before people work too hard at trying to find out what my specific will is for them like you
know what their ministry call is or who they're supposed to marry or what their spiritual gift is
or those kind of things we get all concerned about we just need to to work with the Holy Spirit at
fulfilling the general will of God the first thing we can start with is learning how to be thankful
amen and you can develop an attitude of gratitude and I certainly don't mean that I don't have a
long way to go because I do but I've sure come a long way too and I used to be so negative and
so grouchy and I mean I could find something wrong with everything I grew up in a very
negative atmosphere and it just kind of got off on me but I tell you now I don't even know how
many times a day I say thank you God you know we need to develop that attitude of what do we have
if God doesn't help us what are we except for the grace of God what are we except for God's goodness
in our lives we're nothing absolutely nothing we deserve nothing and every good thing that happens
is a gift from God and we need to celebrate God's goodness thank God in everything
recall recount remember the good things that God has done in your life remember the
red seas that he's part of remember the manna remember the water that's come out of the rock
remember the stones that he rolled out of the way and the resurrections that you've had
let's take time to remember those things and let's talk about those things
thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances might be be thankful and give
thanks for this is the will of God for those of you who are in Christ Jesus now look at verse 19
I love this do not quench suppress or subdue the Holy Spirit so what is that telling me
when I complain I stop or quench or hinder or halt the work of the Holy Spirit in my life
but if I'm going to be praying and asking God to help me with my situation and then
I'm going to be complaining about the very thing that I say I'm trusting God to deliver me from
then I pray and I open the door for him to work I complain and I shut the door in his face
but if you can just keep saying I believe that this is going to work out for my good God I don't
know how you're going to pull this off but this is going to work out for my good some way somehow
you are going to take this tragic situation and you are going to work it out for my good
so God as hard as it is for me to say it I'm gonna thank you right in the midst of it because
even though I don't see it or feel it I know that you're working something good out of this
can we believe that today all things all things all things work together for good
if you want to find the will of God for your life by your bible turn
to first Thessalonians 5 here it is verse 18 it's so simple in everything give thanks
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you now you know the will of God for your life
being a thankful person is bigger than any vocation there is I'm alive because
he wanted me to be alive I had something to eat today because he provided it people
loved me because he he caused that to happen I saw the sunrise because he made that happen
what are you gonna what do you do what's the only thing you can give him that he didn't already have
a grateful heart a grateful heart he don't need your money he don't need he don't need you to
work for him a grateful heart is the treasure of God a grateful heart is the foundation of life
nothing will change your life more nothing every moment in your life from the moment you wake up
until the moment you lay your head on a pillow at night and all during the night
you have much to be thankful for Thessalonians says this in everything give thanks for this is
the will of God for you in Christ Jesus but what if the situation is bad how can I be thankful
for that you know it doesn't say for everything give thanks he says in everything give thanks
for this is the will of God what's the will of God that I keep a thankful heart
don't let frustration rule in your hearts let gratitude rule in your hearts and then
the scripture promises you'll receive the peace of Christ the the good life is out there waiting
for you and you're actually probably already living it if you were just to take the time
and acknowledge all the good you already have don't let the if only's get you down
here's to living the good life with thankfulness in our hearts oh dear friend be grateful today
I think it's a principle that if we don't learn to live with a grateful heart and especially
being grateful when things are not going our way and to give thanks not only to God but to people
I'm telling you I think you can change the atmosphere where you work you can change
the atmosphere in your home can change the atmosphere in a church perhaps in a city
perhaps even in a nation be anxious for nothing but in all things through prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God why should God give
me if I'm a complainer why should God answer my prayer and just give me more to complain about
the heart has to change do all things without grumbling and fault fighting and complaining
against God what's going on in your life that you have been murmuring about
and you haven't once taken the time in that situation to say well God this is happening
and this is not fun and this hurts but here's 10 things I'm thankful for
here's my test uh if you're feeling anxious think of 10 things for what you're grateful
and just watch anxiety leave because anxiety and gratitude do not indwell the same heart gratitude
gets anxiety out it just chases it down anxiety sees gratitude coming says I gotta pack my bags
and leave so the surest way to be peaceful is to be grateful I hope that you hear and that you will
challenge yourself today to live with more gratitude than we do with complaints
regrets that gratitude shifts your perspective when you are grateful
when you are deeply appreciative of God's kindness when you are thankful
it shifts your perspectives from the woe is me to the wowness of God
I love one of the definitions that I found of gratitude in the dictionary
it says acknowledgement of having received something good from another and showing
appreciation for it think about that acknowledge that we've received something good and then be
thankful for it now look at that this scripture in James 1:17 every good and perfect gift is from our
father in heaven coming down from our father in heaven think about that friends every good thing
we have in our life is a gift from God and we should acknowledge these good gifts and we should
thank him for what he's done for us listen we should never take God's goodness for granted
as a parent how does it feel when your child is ungrateful it kind of grieves your heart doesn't
it well what about when your child is grateful it pleases your heart and you know what it makes
you want to do more and more for your child well I think it's the same the way it is with
God when we're grateful I think it pleases his heart but you know what when we're ungrateful
I think that it grieves his heart so I would just encourage you you know what every good gift
is from your father in heaven learn to recognize those gifts and be thankful for that because the
principle from that scripture is this every day we need to recognize God's goodness in our lives
and express gratitude for all he's done for us and never take God's gifts and blessings for granted
by being ungrateful there is always something that we can be grateful for