GRATITUDE

First, I want to start off with giant round of gratitude for our awesome Lord and Savior for protecting Los Cabos from yet another hurricane!  Can I get an amen? 

In last Sunday’s message, I was highlighting that disappointment is just a part of life but that it doesn’t have to cut us off from experiencing Heaven on Earth if we stay in that attitude of gratitude.  I know it’s easier said than done! 

Below are some reasons why having an attitude of gratitude and why creating a daily or weekly gratitude list, can sometimes be the best antidote for a bad case of disappointment.  

Before I breakdown the reasons why gratitude can break the handcuffs of disappointment, how about we first loosen up a little bit with a joke on disappointment.  Ok, here it goes.  

“I recently ordered an online Bible course on how to deal with life’s disappointment”

Yesterday I got the first lesson by email, “It was blank!”

Are you laughing? Or was it another failed attempt like so many of my flops on the beach? 

Ok, let’s get back to our list on how gratitude can fend off disappointment and return us to our lifecation of Heaven on Earth. 

1.    Gratitude opens our spiritual eyes to Heaven on Earth. There’s a beautiful cycle in giving God thanks: the more we thank God, the more we see Him working in us and around us. Gratitude helps us experience Heaven on Earth even in the eye of a hurricane, albeit it took a tad more effort during hurricane Odile as we huddled in the closet in 3 inches of water. Yet eventually the Lord led us to be grateful for our safety, our family being together, and that we had a lot of dry towels. 

2.     Gratitude puts us squarely in God’s will. We often make God’s will out to be some big, mystical plan, when sometimes, it’s simply obedience to our operational handbook of life (the Bible) we then, out of love for God, need to be obedient in being thankful, not just on the sunny days but also during hurricanes. 

Sorry, for all the hurricane references. I’ll try to stop. 

Regarding God’s will about us needing to be thankful, the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

3.     Gratitude brings the presence of Heaven on Earth.  As I highlighted in last Sunday’s sermon, gratitude helps us see that God’s hand is all over our circumstances and that we can trust Him with the things we don’t have control over, like people, and circumstances like hurricanes (hahaha) that cause disappointments or slow Telmex internet or the schools not being fully opened yet. 

The Bible says in Philippians:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

4.     Gratitude brings contentment.  If we aren’t grateful for what God has given us, getting more won’t satisfy us either. Being thankful is the key to contentment and overcoming disappointment 

This is what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:6 about contentment: 

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.”

5.     Gratitude guards against envy, which is a big cause of creating disappointment in our life. Envy makes us want what someone else has. Gratitude makes us realize God has given us far more than we deserve. It says in Psalms 138:1

“A heart wholly grateful has no room left for envy. I will give You thanks with all my heart”  

6.     Gratitude helps us live in the present and not in the past where disappointed can live, or the future where fear exists. Gratitude opens our eyes to the simple beauty of the present moments of life. It lets us see this day and this moment as gifts and to take in the abundance right now of living in Heaven on Earth. 

I wanted to circle back for a minute to my message a couple weeks ago on the importance of preparing our own testimonies to lay witness to what God has done in our life, by wrapping up today’s message with highlighting that having non-believers see us having gratitude during a season of disappointment or a hurricane of life, is one of the most powerful testimonies to how great and big our God is.  Your ability to walk through adversity knowing God’s grace is upon you, can be just the signpost that someone needs to start their own faith journey. 

The bottom line is when we thank God openly and acknowledge what He’s done for us, we proclaim a personal, caring God to the world around us. We show that contentment and peace come not from what we have but Who loves us (God.) 

The Bible says in the book of Psalms: 

“Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done” 

Ok, so, who’s ready to list 7 things your grateful for today?  I’ll give you 1 to get you started.

1.     I’m grateful for spellcheck and grammar check and would be even more grateful if Pastor Rick used it. 😂

2. 

3.

4.

5.

Have a super day everyone! Remember to show your disappointment how big your God is! 

Pastor Rick