CROSS OVER TO GRATEFULNESS
Discover the Other Side of Your Story
Experience the transformative power of Jesus: a life filled with gratitude, authenticity, praise, and hope!
My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me— we live in union as one ! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine!
—Galatians 2:20 TPT
The posture of gratitude.
“I will enter his courts with thanksgiving…”
The posture of authenticity.
“Search my heart oh Lord…”
The posture of praise.
“Let all that I am praise the Lord…”
The posture of hope.
“May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.”
THE BATTLE FOR OUR THANKSGIVING
Have you noticed how unhappy mankind gets when it acts against the order of God?
We have “de-humilitized” our thinking.
Our human psyche was never designed to carry the burden of deciding what was wrong and right.
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
—Genesis 3:4-5
Satan’s trick was not to get mankind to eat the fruit but to think that they could be like God, knowing right from wrong.
He knew that burden would corrupt our worship. We would think that we had the right to decide on some aspects of life that only God had authority over.
Satan introduced idolatry at the most insidious level – idolizing ourselves and thinking we can be like God.
The posture of gratitude starts with a posture of humility.
The posture of entitlement starts with a posture of pride and selfishness.
The worship of self robs the human spirit of humility. And a human spirit that is not humble is devoid of gratitude.
When did thank YOU become thank ME?
ENTITLEMENT IS THE ENEMY OF GRATITUDE
Gratitude to God is an act of worship.
Gratitude to others is an act of obedience.
On his way to Jerusalem Jesus passed through the border region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one village, ten men approached him, but they kept their distance, for they were lepers. They shouted to him, “Mighty Lord, our wonderful Master! Won’t you have mercy on us and heal us ?”
—Luke 17:11-13
When Jesus stopped to look at them, he spoke these words: “Go to be examined by the Jewish priests.” They set off, and they were healed while walking along the way. One of them, a Samaritan , when he discovered that he was completely healed, turned back to find Jesus, shouting out joyous praises and glorifying God. When he found Jesus, he fell down at his feet and thanked him over and over, saying to him, “You are the Messiah.” “So where are the other nine?” Jesus asked. “Weren’t there ten who were healed? They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?”
—Luke 17:14-18
Jesus is not glorified by your entitlement but by your gratitude.
Plaitude is not gratitude!
TWO UNGRATEFUL MINDSETS
I WANT IT NOW!
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
—Luke 15:11-12
I DESERVE MORE!
“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time, you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
—LUKE 15:28-30
EXPOSE ANY UNGRATEFULNESS
Material or financial?
Relational?
Circumstantial?
TO CULTIVATE GRATITUDE
Decide to turn every blessing you can think of into praise.
Every blessing you pour out, I’ll turn back to praise because every blessing I don’t turn to praise turns into pride.
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
—Philippians 4:11-13
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.
For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast. Better to have little, with fear for the Lord , than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.
—Proverbs 15:15-16
Don’t just feel gratitude express it.
And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”
—Ecclesiastes 4:6
So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
—James 1:16-18
GRATEFUL HEART TIPS
Share what you’re most grateful for.
To whom do you need to express gratitude?
In each of the three areas—material/financial, relational, and circumstantial—what’s feeding your feelings of entitlement?
How will you pursue an attitude of gratitude?
List your blessings out loud.
Take some time together to turn those back to God as praise.
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