GRATITUDE ROSS SMITH
ALL REFERENCES FROM AMPLIFIED VERSION UNLESS NOTED
Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the (1) (fig tree does not blossom and there is (2) no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the (3) olive fails and the (4) fields yield no food, though the (5) flock is cut off from the fold and there are (6) no cattle in the stalls, (V18) YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD; I WILL EXULT IN THE [VICTORIOUS] GOD OF MY SALVATION!
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- No potential
- No result, just leaves
- Bad fruit
- A failed harvest
- No reproduction, no lambs
- Resources are exhausted
What a compendium of disaster, it doesn’t look like it could get much worse, and is similar to the bankruptcy that Job faced. And Job said “though He slay me, YET will I wait for and trust Him. (Job 13:15) And yet the Prophet can conclude his lament with such a positive expression born out of his relationship with God. It is this confidence and trust and reliance on God that enables a heart of THANKSGIVING in the midst of adversity. The YET in both cases means, “nevertheless, notwithstanding, in spite of”.
The Word of God tells us that this is the same attitude we should adopt, “REGARDLESS OF OUTWARD CONDITIONS”. (Matthew 5) It requires the “ADHERENCE, TRUST, RELIANCE” that constitutes “BELIEVE”.
Let us not be guilty of the sin of ingratitude! It is not as small a matter as we may think. We may feel that GRATITUDE consists of nothing more than saying a polite “thank-you.” We may regard it merely as a pleasant and courteous add-on to Christian experience, rather than as a CRITICAL COMPONENT of our Christian character or an ESSENTIAL ELEMENT for victorious living. If we think that way about GRATITUDE, we indeed do err.
When we choose to be unthankful or ungrateful, the roots of INGRATITUDE sink deeply into the contaminated soil of our fallen nature and produce all kinds of corrupt fruit, accommodating unhealthy attitudes that negatively affect our spiritual health and emotional wellbeing.
FEW THINGS ARE LESS BECOMING TO A CHILD OF GOD THAN AN UNGRATEFUL SPIRIT.
Unhappiness is a contagious disease caused by a chronic deficiency of gratitude. GRATITUDE is not something we tack onto a prayer when God has done something significant, or an emotion we feel when life is going well.
THANKFULNESS IS AN INTENTIONAL PRACTICE FOR BELIEVERS that takes our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances and fixes them squarely on God as we acknowledge His character and goodness, His providence, preparation and plans. Gratitude will not just happen. We must intentionally cultivate it because our nature is to be ungrateful.
Romans 1:21 Because when they KNEW and RECOGNISED Him as God, They did not honor and glorify Him as God OR GIVE HIM THANKS. But instead they became futile and GODLESS in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their SENSELESS minds were darkened.
This verse is not speaking of unbelievers but so-called Christians, they “Knew and Recognised” but were “GODLESS”.
This verse is sobering because it means that INGRATITUDE is not a small lapse in judgment or careless oversight but a mark of GODLESSNESS and SENSELESSNESS despite “KNOWING”. It is a mark of unbelief and a challenge for us to see if we engage in “futile and godless thinking” (called “silent debate) and all those dimensions Romans mentions. It follows that “INGRATITUDE” fits into the same category as “Leaning on our own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)
Is this the reason why so many are distracted and diverted from the real path to spiritual maturity, claiming to be Christian, but bereft of the ability to recognise the “INCONCEIVABLE GREATNESS” of God which is the very catalyst for “GRATITUDE and “THANKFULNESS”. It is not just in the significant events that Father brings our way, but even for the very breath we breathe.
Isaiah 42:5 Thus says God the Lord–HE WHO CREATED the heavens and stretched them forth, He Who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it, HE WHO GIVES BREATH TO THE PEOPLE on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
“BREATHING” is equated in this verse in Isaiah to the creation of the universe.
Psalm 150:6 Let EVERYTHING that has breath and every breath of life PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD! (Hallelujah!)
The psalmist is more expansive than Isaiah, nominating everything, not just people. He suggests that our entire respiratory system is designed for two things, (1) firstly to keep us alive, but (2) for the purpose of perpetual praise. Daniel said of Belshazzar, “but the God in Whose hand your breath is and Whose are all your ways you have not honoured and glorified [but have dishonoured and disgraced].” Daniel 5:22)
INGRATITUDE suggests that God hasn’t done enough and that He isn’t enough. INGRATITUDE makes our heart callous and keeps us from believing God and obeying Him. It originates in our lack of “AWARENESS” of God in everything, just like Romans 1:20 prescribes. So, what is your excuse?
INGRATITUDE comes when we believe, even subconsciously, that God is withholding good from us. We think we know better than God and we deserve better. Adam and Eve fell prey to INGRATITUDE in Genesis 3. God had given Adam and Eve an abundant garden, flourishing with all kinds of vegetation except weeds, teeming with animals and filled with God’s presence. It was perfect and complete, and they lacked nothing.
UNGRATEFUL CHRISTIANS ARE JUST ONE SMALL STEP AWAY FROM ACTIVE REBELLION AGAINST GOD.
We are generally able to give thanks FOR things, but we are most often remiss in thankfulness IN everything. There is a significant difference, the FOR things are those things that we receive, gifts, assistance, answers, anything that satisfies my wants or wishes or needs.
The THANKFULNESS “IN” is a much broader, more vast, extensive and complicated panorama, for it constitutes every moment of our day.
Paul said in Ephesians and again in Thessalonians “EVERYTHING”, so there does not seem to be anything that can be made as a legitimate excuse. It means that every moment is designed to afford us the opportunity to recognise, acknowledge and marvel at the God who has absolute control of the universe and yet deems to include us in His plan and to provoke that awe and reverent fear so necessary for Godliness.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 THANK [GOD] IN EVERYTHING [NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
“NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE” includes the circumstances that have changed their nature in the past six months. We have been afforded the “NO MATTER WHAT” and so we must reflect if we have been thankful and give thanks. See the repetition now in Ephesians.
Ephesians 5:20 AT ALL TIMES AND FOR EVERYTHING GIVING THANKS in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
Many times, I hear people say they are seeking the will of God in some particular arena. They cannot expect that Father will consider their enquiry sincere when they fail to apply that which 1 Thessalonians 5:18 clearly identifies as an underlying principle of “the will of God for you”. That principle is “THANK [GOD] IN EVERYTHING [NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE”.
We can walk in God’s will by applying these directions, and by being grateful. We are acknowledging Him like Proverbs 3:6 instructs. That will further enhance our direction and improve our ways and idiosyncrasies.
If we are “UNGRATEFUL”, we will find ourselves wandering in a “spiritual wilderness,” a place where our lives will become increasingly empty and barren. If we lose sight of God’s goodness and adopt the world’s egocentric ingratitude, we will forfeit God’s joy and peace and instead experience the world’s frustrations.
If we expend time and mental energy ruminating over the same problematic people and frustrating situations, engaging in “SILENT DEBATE”, we will, by our own choice, be constantly unhappy. Dwelling on dissatisfaction is a destructive emotional habit that diminishes our capacity to experience joy and thanksgiving, and totally disrupts our progress to “CONFORMITY”.
Psalm 119:7 I will praise and give thanks to You with uprightness of heart WHEN I LEARN [BY SANCTIFIED EXPERIENCES] (Also known as “CIRCUMSTANCES” .. comments mine) Your righteous judgments [Your decisions against and punishments for particular lines of thought and conduct]. (Also known as “SILENT DEBATE” .. comments mine)
The “Sanctified Experiences” are plural, are learned, and free from “particular lines of thought”, those things we know as silent debate. The cliché states “thoughts are actions in rehearsal”.
When we start to feel that what God has given us is less than we deserve, our unfulfilled desires will turn to RESENTMENT, that carcinogen that eats away at our very soul. We will lose appreciation for the many blessings we have and become despondent because we lack the kind of house, job, spouse, or children that others have. Those frustrations may break out in fighting and quarrelling with one another.
Like any Christian virtue, an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE is not developed in a day. It is the fruit of daily moment-by-moment choices we make to follow the Lord’s command to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV). It includes training our hearts to look for and identify our daily blessings and His goodness.
The psalmist was particularly aware of this principle when he said in Psalm 145:2, “Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever. Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever.”
“When joy and prayer are married, their firstborn child is gratitude.” (Spurgeon)
There is a line of progress to reach that state of “GRATITUDE” that is necessary for us to please the Lord. It starts with our “AWARENESS”, that conscious and acute sense, and acknowledgement, of Father’s control, followed by our unquestioning acceptance that the One who guides the universe also guards my life.
“GRATITUDE” is the offspring of “AWARENESS”. If we do not see the benevolent hand of God in everything, we will only be “GRATEFUL” in some things, or maybe, not at all.
Psalm 30:12 To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
David points up that the very viscera of our being, the parts “fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14 KJV) – – all those physical faculties that still puzzle the medical profession, have a twofold purpose, like our breath. (1) To keep us alive, (2) To praise and be grateful.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we, brethren beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those who are in debt] to GIVE THANKS ALWAYS TO GOD FOR YOU, because God chose you from the beginning as His firstfruits (first converts) for salvation through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief in (adherence to, trust in, and reliance on) the Truth.
Total “ADHERENCE, TRUST, and RELIANCE” (A.T.R.) is the fertiliser of “GRATITUDE”.
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Ross Smith 