Gratitude: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

 

“If you can’t be thankful for what you receive,
be thankful for what you escape.”

  Matthew Henry, an 18th-century Puritan preacher whose Bible commentary is one of the most popular of all time, was once accosted by robbers while living in London. Being robbed, having something stolen, or having your home or car broken into is a horrible feeling. You feel so violated. It’s among the most unsettling things that can happen to a person. I’m sure it was, as well, for a quiet, thoughtful pastor and man of letters like Matthew Henry. Yet, somehow, as he reflected on it (as he wrote in his diary), even in that invasive act, Matthew Henry couldn’t help but find something to be thankful for as a result of his misfortune.

  He wrote: “Let me be thankful. First, because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” 

  Wow! I hope my growth in godly gratitude reaches that pinnacle someday. God has worked in my life and I’m so much further than I was, yet I have so far to go. A spirit of thankfulness isn’t something you can check off your “To Do” list and you’re done. It’s an area that you and I will need to continue to work on and grow in until we’re Home. 

  So, how are you doing with gratitude? Hopefully, our series, Thank-full, has helped you. I know it’s helped me. Early in this series, I mentioned Ann Voskamp’s powerful book, One Thousand Gifts. As Ann began to record God’s blessings in her life, others noticed. Before recording God’s blessings in her life she’d struggled with depression and sadness. Writing down God’s blessings revolutionized her life. 

  Are you becoming more grateful? Have others noticed? Have they said anything? If not, let me encourage you to ask a godly friend to let you know how you’re doing in gratitude. We all need the encouragement. And if they honestly share that we’re known more for griping than our gratitude, then we need to repent and grow in thankfulness. 

  Today is our last sermon in this series, but it must not be the end of growing in gratitude. Individually and as a church we must continue to grow in gratitude. It must be part of our spiritual DNA. We have so much to be thankful for. Growing gratitude carries with it countless blessings. 

  Gratitude draws us closer to our Father. All of us love to be thanked. Recently, I took a box of donuts to a local group that I support and someone on their staff took the time to send me a thank you note. It made my day. I took the donuts because I wanted to encourage them. Their thank-you note encouraged me! God designed us that way. Our Father loves it when we sincerely and habitually thank Him. 

  Do you long for a greater sense of God’s closeness? As stress intensifies, when nighttime worries seem to magnify in strength, when days are piling up one after another, or when life simply feels dull and routine, do you crave the assurance of His presence? The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3). God lives in the place of praise. If you and I want to go where He is, we must go to His address. 

  Expressing gratitude to our Father makes Him more real in our lives. It increases our depth perception of the One who knows our name, loves us, and knows all about us. He knows our deepest wounds, vilest sins, and failures and still loves us. Intentional gratitude transports us nearer to Him! 

  Gratitude is the path to deep, soul peace. Peace is not a change of scenery. Prayer, peace and thanksgiving all go together. As I pray and leave my burdens with the Father, He floods my soul with peace. And then I thank Him over and over again (Philippians 4:6-7). They’re interrelated. 

  When prayer tag-teams with gratitude, when we open our eyes to see God’s grace and mercies even in the midst of pain and trials when we exercise faith and thank Him even in the storm when we can’t see blue sky anywhere, He meets us with indescribable peace. Praise and prayer are vital. Yet, to really experience His peace we must come to Him in gratitude. Hard gratitude. Costly gratitude. The gratitude that trusts that He is working for our good even in the midst of the fire. It’s the kind that garrisons our hearts with His unexplainable peace. 

  Gratitude is the yardstick of our hearts. When you ask friends over for a meal or out to dinner, it’s a sure sign that you like them and enjoy their company, and are comfortable spending time with them. 

  One common trait of those in the pages of Scripture who were close to the Lord is gratitude. All the other traits of godliness are connected to it. When we’re grateful to God for His obvious and even more subtle (or hard to understand) forms of blessing, it’s a measure of the condition of our heart. It reveals you believe that He is good, faithful, and can be trusted. 

  Complaining, negativity, and pessimism are sadly measures of our heart, too. They may even indicate we don’t really know the Lord. Christians have been rescued at the expense of God’s only Son from Hell. We’ve been forgiven freely because of the cross though we’re absolutely undeserving. The very worst in this life is truly a pittance of pain compared to an eternity separated from God. Stop and think about what Jesus really did for us on the cross. How can we not continually praise Him? 

  In May of 1915, the British passenger ship, Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine. When the Lusitania was hit, there were 1,962 people on board. In a matter of minutes, the huge ship began to come apart. In the next few hours, 1,201 passengers and crew died. One of those who went down with the ship was American millionaire, Alfred Vanderbilt. Survivors reported that he spent his last moments helping others to safety. He rounded up as many children as he could and got them into lifeboats. Just before the ship went down, Vanderbilt handed his life jacket to a young mother with a baby in her arms. 

  While it was a brave and noble sacrifice, the Lord Jesus did so much more for us! He took upon Himself all of our sins and died our death, our spiritual death. Without Jesus, we were going down for all eternity. Now we’re going to spend eternity in heaven with Him because of His sacrifice. How can we not overflow with gratitude?

  The forgiven must be known for being thankful! It’s obedience. It’s God’s will. Are you? Let’s grow in gratitude!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

Not the same old face....

“We don’t grow older, we grow riper.”  

Pablo Picasso

Probably the biggest problem with Facebook is you’re supposed to post pictures of your face…at least periodically. Recently, Jane and I had lunch with her sister, Susan, and husband, Fred Froman. We then posted a picture of the four of us on Facebook. Darlene Gomes, a mutual friend who’d been in both of our youth groups many years ago in Warren, Michigan wrote underneath, “How did you guys get so old when I’ve only aged a little?”

  She was teasing (I hope). Darlene is a few years younger than us, yet she makes a valid point. No one can slow down the aging process. While we can’t keep ourselves from growing old, we have complete control over how we will grow old and what kind of older person we will be. Even if you’re already “older,” it’s not too late to make some needed adjustments.

  Unfortunately, most of us in our twenties or thirties, rarely consider what kind of older person we want to be. We tend to age purposelessly, much like bread grows mold. Habits or attitudes acquired early on often become entrenched in our sundown years. Yet, there’s something wonderful and fulfilling about being someone who’s “grown old in Jesus.” I’ve had the privilege of knowing a few. By God’s grace, I want to be one...don’t you?  

  The first funeral I conducted was for a dear saint, Bess Norum. She was nearly 95 years young when Jesus called her Home. Bess was sweet, yet a bit of a firecracker. When she was younger, she’d sung in Billy Sunday’s choir during one of his revivals. Even at 94, she had a powerful Christlike influence on others. Her closest friends had essentially dropped out of church yet because of Bess’ encouragement, came back. Back then, our church didn’t have air conditioning. For a small church of 40 people, to put it in was a chunk of change. At the information meeting, Bess quipped we could make a lot of lemonade for what it was going to cost. Yet, she was one of the early givers who helped pay for the new air conditioning.

  If we’re not already there, each of us will reach that stage where there’s more of life’s road in the rearview mirror than in the windshield. While there’s no shortage of old men and women, yet if you list out those you want to be like, who you want to emulate, the list will be alarmingly short.

  This is true for a variety of reasons. Too many drift into self-centeredness. Life becomes about “ME.” I remember trying to feign interest on one occasion as a retired couple droned on and on about the wonders of their RV and all the gadgets it had. Life was about travelling for them and all the things THEY were going to do, but nary a word about what they might do for someone else, even their own grandchildren. Many succumb to impatience, which is ironic if you stop and think about it – what pressing matters do they have? Others become critical or petty. Some sour with bitterness. Most live in the past and no longer lean forward into the future.

  You’ll find that those who are examples of quality aging will not attract you because of their achievements or success, as we often define it. What makes for an attractive aged person has much more to do with character, attitude, the fruit of the Spirit and Christlikeness. By God’s grace, all of us can make our twilight years our highlight years. Scripture has many examples of older saints, many who are well worth emulating like Abraham, Caleb, Simeon or Anna. Can I though focus on two elderly Bible saints often overlooked that we can learn so much from?

  One is Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Scripture gives us just a glimpse of this godly matriarch. I’d encourage you to take time to study her story for yourself in Luke 1. Elizabeth is well up in years but childless. Rather, than allowing that fate to embitter her, Elizabeth chose to be gracious, trusting the Lord. When she miraculously conceives yet learns her younger cousin, Mary, is expecting, though it means her son will play 2^nd fiddle to Mary’s Son, Elizabeth rejoices with her. She completely trusts and submits to God’s sovereign plan. She’s willing to go against the tide when it comes to naming her son. Her commitment is to pleasing the Lord even though it causes tongues to wag and say harsh things about her.

  I meet many older folk who’ve had hard lives. Some, every opportunity they have, let others know how unhappy they are. While others may not know the cause of the bitterness, they know this elderly person has more wrinkles on their soul than their face. They’re miserable to be around. Often they will bemoan, “None of my family or friends call me.” They fail to connect their dark outlook with others’ absence.

  The other one is Jacob. Here’s an individual who truly fits the words of famed Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, “The last days of the saints are sometimes their best days, and their last work is their best work.” Early in his life, Jacob had been a conniving, manipulative, deceitful and sour person. He was a success as far as this world is concerned, but true success came to him in the last two decades of his life.

  Jacob believed his son, Joseph, was dead. But when he learned Joseph was alive and went to Egypt to be taken care of by Joseph, it was then Jacob had a one man revival. He allowed the faith, forgiving spirit and graciousness of Joseph to influence him and re-direct the trajectory of his life. The man who’d lived most of his life in fear became a man of faith and vision. Prior to the Egypt years, Jacob’s children and grandchildren gave him a wide berth, but something happened. Jacob changed and grew a tender heart for God. He became a godly testimony to others. It’s why I love Jacob. His last years demonstrate there’s always hope. With Christ working in your life, anyone can change, no matter how old you are.

  Even if your life hasn’t turned out like you expected, ask yourself a vital question: What kind of old man or woman do I want to be? You can’t undo the past or always control your circumstances. You do have a choice about the life you’re going to live. Many of us have a gut-wrenching choice to make. We can put our lives on autopilot, drifting into becoming a grumpy geezer. Or, by God’s grace, we can do the hard work of reinventing ourselves, reworking the last chapters of life so we truly end “Happily Ever After with Jesus.” Do you need to write a new chapter? It’s never too late!

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