Cultivating A Heart Of Gratitude

This past Lord’s Day, we were confronted on multiple fronts with the topic of gratitude. Pastor Tyler opened the morning service reading out of Psalm 105, “O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name. ” The Prayer of Confession was targeted at the sin of ingratitude followed by a special by Elena DeVellen that simply said, Thank You, Jesus! In the evening service, we were introduced to a new song entitled, God I’m Just Grateful, to which Pastor called us to tell someone what we’re grateful for.

As sinful people, we are naturally selfish, prideful and self-absorbed. If not careful, we can develop a spirit of entitlement which is the enemy of gratitude and thankfulness. So I wanted to share a few ways that we can cultivate a heart of gratitude.

1. Gratitude begins by recognizing God.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. – James 1:17

Every good thing that we have ultimately comes from God. God made us and has given us the opportunities and abilities to do anything good. Life and health comes from God. Success in the workplace comes from God. Friends and family come from God. A great church to call home comes from God. Every day we should thank Him for everything good thing that we enjoy.

2. Gratitude requires intentional cultivation.
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. – Colossians 3:17

God tells us in His Word repeatedly to give thanks. That suggests that gratitude doesn’t always happen naturally. It’s something that we must intentionally nurture. We should be regularly evaluating the ways that God has been good to us and thanking Him. And not just the cookie cutter Christian answers that we give around Thanksgiving but really meditate on God’s goodness.

3. Gratitude changes how we see our circumstances.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Being thankful in everything doesn't mean being thankful for everything. It means looking for God's faithfulness even when circumstances aren't what we would choose. Often things don’t go according to plan, and these can be the most frustrating times in a Christian’s life. It is then that we are faced the choice to approach those circumstances with a temporal or eternal mindset. We can still be thankful in bad circumstances.

4. Gratitude should become visible.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks. – Luke 17:15-16

In the story of the ten lepers, Jesus healed all ten but only one turned back to worship Him and give thanks. Does that mean that the other nine were not thankful? I’m sure they were, but gratitude should become visible. Thanksgiving shouldn't remain an internal feeling. It should show up in our words, worship, relationships, generosity, and service.

Cultivating a heart of gratitude is a daily practice. Not only reserved for Sunday. That grateful attitude should overflow
on Sundays when confronted with the Word and worship of our Father but as a result of daily recognizing and thanking
God for all He’s done.