Is Your Attitude One of Gratitude

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

November 20, 2005

Rev. Eddie Smart

Psalm 100:1-5

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

2Worship the LORD with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

3Know that the LORD is God.

It is he that made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him, bless his name.

5For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

     Let me ask you a question that was once posed by William Law. Who is the greatest saint in the world? Are you the greatest saint in the world? You should be you know. Law pointed out that it is not the one who prays the most, gives the most money, loves the most or is the most just. Law wrote, “it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”

     Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. (Ps. 100:1-2)

Out of the 150 Psalms, seventeen of those have been classified by Dr. Toni Cravens as Psalms of Thanksgiving and Trust. She also classifies 15 Psalms as Hymns of Praise, including Psalm 100. Praise and Thanksgiving-we are called to praise and thanksgiving. Praise and Thanksgiving are two important elements in our prayers.

Many of us introduce our children to prayer through giving thanks. We say blessings at meal times. We teach them to pray before bed time. Those prayers often are prayers of thanksgiving.

Often children teach us about prayer and giving thanks. Sometimes kids offer us a very simple wisdom.

When Ryan was 5, he offered the following prayer during his family devotions: "Dear Jesus, sorry for the mess we made in the yard today." After a slight pause, he concluded, "Thank you for the fun we had doing it." Sometimes we need to be thankful for such simple things as fun.

     Know that the Lord is God it is he who made us, and we are his; we are

his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:2)

     Scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. Sometimes God

cares for our needs in ways that don't seem to make sense. It is easy to be thankful for answered prayers, but to be thankful for unanswered prayers?

     I first heard it as a song that was sung by Jimmy Dean. He called it “Most Richly Blessed.” Originally it was a poem found on the body of a valiant Southern soldier, known but to God.

Confederate Soldier's Prayer

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among men, most richly blessed.

     Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)

John Henry Jowett, a British preacher of an earlier generation, said this about gratitude: "Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic." What did he mean? He meant that gratitude, like a vaccine, can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled, discouraged spirit. Like an antitoxin, gratitude can prevent the affects of the poisons of cynicism, criticalness, and grumbling. Like an antiseptic, a spirit of gratitude can soothe and heal the most troubled spirit.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5) It is in response to the Lord's goodness, faithfulness, and love that we give thanks to God. It is that attitude of gratitude that is transforming in our lives.

   ... his wife had left him and he was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living.

   One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon.

   In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?"

   The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads."

   Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."

   That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning."

   "All of a sudden," said our friend, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stop majoring in all that I didn't have. I started to choose happiness."

Whether we like it or not, we were created to be grateful people. How do we show that gratitude? We show gratitude in our giving of ourselves to God and to others. Seems like Jesus had something to say about loving God and loving neighbor.

We were created to be grateful. We can never know happiness apart from gratitude. So in this time of thanksgiving, we can give thanks to God for all.