Gratefulness
A few weeks ago at our church we were going through a series called The Separated Season. We mainly were going through John 15 and analyzing what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” In order for the preacher to do his/her job they must not only explain what the text means but also how it applies to us where we are. Every week I try to find what the application could be but I want to begin to focus on something else in addition and so should you.
Before applying what the sermon or lesson was about to our lives we must first apply something to our own hearts. This week I spoke about serving and waiting on God actively. The step before doing these things is something I feel is often missed in people.
Truthfully I started writing this post/article a few weeks ago and didn’t because I wasn't sure how to communicate what I was thinking because I was struggling with practicing it. I’m not here to say that now I have mastered the art of being grateful…far from it actually. What I’ve learned the last few weeks is that gratitude isn’t necessarily a destination to reach but rather a path to walk. I guess that’s the philosophical way of saying that messing up shouldn't discourage us from continuing to try. Nothing deep but something very true.
Why should God do anything for me if I never learned to be grateful for the things that He’s already done? I wonder how God feels sometimes when I haven’t remembered to say thanks. The thing about gratitude is that it’s something that we have to learn. Gratitude is a discipline.
Gratitude is a discipline.
I had to have it stand alone so it could really sink in. I think placing it there with an uncomfortable word like discipline places it in it’s proper context. It’s hard sometimes. We don’t want to do it sometimes but it gets us to where we want to go. Things that we have been disciplined in can be done without the presence of emotional motivation. If you discipline yourself to eat healthy or go to the gym then you can still eat your avocado when your friends order pizza and workout when your body is sore. Likewise, gratitude can be expressed without the presence of a positive situation.
Gratitude will give us perspective. It helps us to draw strength from our past and patience from our future to give us the ability to sacrifice in our present. Most times being grateful will make us feel good in the moment which is great! But sometimes being grateful will have us in situations that are a bit uncomfortable. Being grateful is a discipline. How can you have discipline with no challenge. You can’t. If you’re practicing gratitude and you’re feeling opposition, it’s okay. You’re gratefulness is simply being stretched. A friend of mine just preached a great sermon that I’ll leave a link for at the bottom. In it he recommended something that’s easy to do and the results are powerful! Keep a prayer journal.
My friend, Joumeel, posed the question, “How can you ever thank God for what He’s done if you don’t remember what you asked for?” I’m finishing this post up on August 1st and I will be making sure that everyday for the rest of my life I am wiritng down every single thing I pray for. It matters because I want to become grateful. Do you?
Sermon: The Guard in the Front Seat by Joumeel McLaurine
