“The Advantages of a Thankful Heart!”
11/21/23
1 Thes. 5:16-18 “Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT).
Christians are encouraged to be always joyful, always prayerful, and always thankful, no matter the circumstances.
This is NOT an easy call!
Yet we’re going to see that living a life of consistent prayer and thanksgiving changes things!
One person wrote, “Prayer and Thanksgiving are the two wings of the soul by which it rises upward to God.”
I’ve noticed in my own life, and in others, that being thankful (or not) can be a thermometer that reveals the temperature of your walk with God.
A thankful heart is God’s will—We are to be grateful people!
Jesus was a thankful Savior.
Paul was a thankful Apostle.
David was a thankful Psalmist and king!
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Now, the Bible consistently makes a distinction between the ungodly who are never thankful to their Maker, and the godly who are.
In Romans 1, The ungodly are reproved for not being thankful (Romans 1:21), and their unthankfulness is one of the early signs of their dire drift away from God.
And we certainly see this in America today!
A growing swath of our nation is the opposite of thankful.
Instead of thankful, grateful people, we see an ungrateful, whining, complaining, entitlement attitude permeating the culture that is anything but thankful.
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History shows that the further a nation drifts away from God, the less they are thankful and the more they complain!
For instance, the Bible records 14 major times where Israel complained, rather than being thankful, and provoked God’s displeasure in the wilderness…
The Psalmist reports, “But they complained in their tents” (Ps.106:25a).
Now watch him go on to describe their downward spiral following this ungrateful attitude.
—It says next, “They did not listen to the voice of the Lord” (25b).
Ungrateful Israel soon grew to reject the counsel of the Lord.
—Then next, “They joined themselves to Baal of Peor…” (vs 28)
Their unthankful hearts turned completely away from the true God and began worshipping false gods.
—Then it says they, “…ate gifts given to the dead.”
The unthankful, ungrateful Israelites descended into eating meals dedicated to idols and bowed down before these false gods.
—And finally, the consequences for Israel rolled in: “They made the Lord angry by their actions and a sickness broke out among them” (vs.29).
Israel went from thankless complaining, to rejecting God’s voice, to worshipping false gods, to coming under God’s judgment.
But thank God, the book of Hebrews says of Christians, “We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation“ (Heb. 6:9 NLT).
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Now, it’s worth noting that the Thessalonian believers Paul instructs to be always joyful and thankful were surrounded by trials.
From the very beginning of their salvation they were immersed in adversity and hardship:
1:6 “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit…”
—Under the Romans, many Christians in the town of Thessalonica lived as slaves and were persecuted for their new found faith.
—And others who were free from slavery were still poor, illiterate, and unable to obtain what we would consider the basic necessities of life.
—And still other Thessalonian believers contracted serious and untreatable illnesses resulting in early death—which is why Paul explained the Rapture of the church to them.
—Persecution in Thessalonica was so intense, Paul left town to try to dial it back.
Think about it! It’s to these storm-tossed Christians Paul writes, “Rejoice always, pray always, and always be thankful!”
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Now, in the natural we think, how could they (or how can I) always rejoice and be thankful when experiencing trouble, trials, setbacks, and hardships?
When I’ve got more questions than answers?
When my best-laid plans fall apart?
When my world has come crashing in around me?
When it seems like evil is winning the day?
How can I be thankful then?
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Let me suggest three reasons to be thankful.
First,
I. Being thankful reminds us of where our blessings come from.
“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
Complaining magnifies the negatives in life, while being thankful magnifies God’s goodness!
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II. Being thankful helps us keep our troubles in balance.
Unthankful people count their troubles, while thankful people count their blessings.
Being thankful prevents you from being overwhelmed with the negatives surrounding you.
If you’re focused on the good things God has done, it saves you from the lie that all is bad and gloomy, gloom and doom.
In the Psalms, David has a negative thought: “Will the Lord turn away forever? Will He never show favor again? 8 Has His loving-kindness stopped forever? Has His promise come to an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be loving and kind?”
But then he stops this negative train of thinking:
“I will remember the things the Lord has done. Yes, I will remember the powerful works of long ago. 12 I will think of all Your work, and keep in mind all the great things You have done” (Ps. 77:7-12).
This is what being thankful does, when we choose to remember the good things God has done, and to thank Him!
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III. Being thankful is how we practice the presence of God in our lives.
Again, the Psalmist wrote, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name” (Ps. 100:4).
When we thank God, it says He literally “inhabits the praises of His people!” (Ps. 22:3)
Let’s stand to give thanks to God by taking communion, showing thanks for the gift of His Son and the life He gave!