Thankfulness is Learned

Pastor Leon Aguilera

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endurethfor ever.² O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endurethfor ever.³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endurethfor ever.–Psalm 136:1-3

                The Bible doesn’t hesitate to urge us to thank God. If you are a new creation in Christ, the process of thanksgiving should be a continual interest to you. Psalm 136:1-3 records a three-peat command to “give thanks” followed by this echoed and overwhelming reason: “for his mercy endurethfor ever.”

These verses and the rest of this Psalm urge us to remember we are giving thanks to One who doesn’t need our thanks. Yet He receives our gratitude anyway and loves us with a steadfast, everlasting love. God deserves every effort we can make to improve our capacity for thanksgiving.

Scripture shows there are three learned levels of thankfulness, and every follower of Jesus is enrolled in the school of gratitude. But too many are flunking out, having forgotten God’s steadfast, enduring love. That’s why a regular review of the development of a thankful heart is important. We never fully graduate from the school of thankfulness.

First, there’s basic elementary school thankfulness. Hebrews 13:15 says, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Thanksgiving is the sacrifice.

You might think, Okay, I know I should be more thankful. Fine, I’ll make a list of things I’m grateful for. I’ll make the sacrifice. I’ll be thankful.

Congratulations—you’re an elementary school graduate. It’s a place to start, but don’t stay there!

Once you have developed a consistent habit of thanksgiving, it’s time to graduate to the next level: high school thankfulness. First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks.”

You’re making progress in gratitude when you discover something to be thankful for in every situation. The picture may be dismal, but learn to find a bright spot—a hint of God’s presence. For example, you may not feel thankful for your spouse at the moment, but you’re thankful for your kids and the life you have together. Or you might not feel thankful for your job, but you’re thankful for your health insurance and the ability to provide for yourself. In other words, go after deliberate, if selective, gratitude.

Finding something to be thankful for in everything is certainly a step above having only random grateful thoughts. But there is still plenty of room for developing a deeply thankful heart. Here’s what you’re going for: graduate school thankfulness. Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

No matter what’s happening, no matter how dark the moment, God is in control. He can be explicitly trusted. He’s working out a purpose beyond what you can imagine. Some of it you’ll see in this life; some of it you’ll see in the life to come. Give thanks to God—always and for everything! Go for it. Thank Him for the hardest part of your life. Just say, “Thank You, God, even for this,” and trust in His steadfast love which endures forever. 

Go Ahead, Bring your Umbrella

Pastor Leon Aguilera

⁵⁸ And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  – Matthew 13:58

Poor Nazareth. The people there took offense at their hometown prophet, Jesus, and as a result, Jesus couldn’t do much in that town “because of their unbelief.” Their lack of faith robbed them of Jesus’ “many mighty works.”

Wouldn’t that be an awful thing to have said about your home, about your family, about you? “Jesus couldn’t do much in or through you because you didn’t believe Him.” Do you ever wonder, Lord, why don’t You do more in our church? Could it be because of unbelief? Why do You cause good things to happen in my friend’s life but not mine? Could it be because your friend believes God more? You may be a candidate for James’s blunt wisdom: “ye have not, because ye ask not. ³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,” (James 4:2b–3a).

Faith is the key. God’s promises are activated by faith. Faith is not passive—it’s active. Don’t say, “I’ll just wait over here. Maybe God will work; maybe He won’t.” What are you doing about it? Are you like the sick patient who needs to get better but refuses to go to the doctor? That’s foolish. You have to do what you can. Or like the single who longs for a spouse but never goes to where the singles are? You can’t just sit in your basement and pray for someone to show up. Not a great plan. Do your part. Or like the people who are filled with worry and want to have hope but never read the Bible. They might carry it, respect it, and defend it, but they’re not living in it. They’re not opening it like the Word of life and drinking from it like someone thirsty in a desert.

The next time you gather with other believers to cry out to God for rain, count how many people bring umbrellas for the trip home. Bringing an umbrella doesn’t force God to send rain, but it does indicate how seriously you are expecting God to act!

Faith has to be active to be real. Remember Naaman, the leprous general from 2 Kings 5? God told him to go dip in the filthy Jordan River seven times. He was insulted. He hadn’t expected that healing would involve potentially humiliating circumstances. He would have paid richly for treatment, but he wasn’t eager to follow these instructions. At first he angrily refused, but eventually, once he humbled himself and followed God’s plan, he was healed. In faith, he did his part—and God did the rest.

Remember the widow in debt from 2 Kings 4? She collected containers from her neighbors to hold all the oil God gave her to pay back her creditors. In faith, she did what she could—and God did the rest.

A warrior heading into battle has to pick up his weapon. We must do what we can, what we’re commanded to do as an expression of faith. Put some action behind what you believe, and then watch God work. Only when we have done all we know to do can we wait by faith for God to do what only He can do.