THE GRATITUDE INTERLUDE
I want welcome you today to take a Gratitude Interlude. I have discovered the power of bringing both the heart and the head to the worship of God. Gratitude develops our heart muscles towards God! Our capacity to love God increases as magnify what God has done! The reason David was so much in love with the Lord was God was because He had mastered the art of praise and thanksgiving. He lived in the very environment of gratitude, thanksgiving and praise knowing that God inhabits the praises of His people.
David was called a man after God’s own heart and not a man after God’s own hand! Some of us are after God’s hand and are excited about the works of God and what He does on our behalf! May we be like David and pursue God primarily because of who He is! No wonder David could sing in gratitude: Psalms 103:1-5 BSB
[1] Bless the Lord, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name. [2] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds— [3] He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion, [5] who satisfies you with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
We need to learn to harness the power of perpetual gratitude because many of us are by default natural professional complainers. All we focus and talk about is what is wrong! We should choose to deliberately and intentionally focus on those things that are right and good and learn to reframe everything with God as the background and context.
Many of us have versions of the book of Lamentations and we keep rehashing it over and over to those who would listen thus oozing and infecting others in our sphere of influence with negative energy.
The clarion call for us today is that we change our negative stance towards life and invest our energies in becoming more grateful for the hand that life has dealt us because we believe this truth: Romans 8:28 BSB
[28] And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”
The fundamental question is what goes gratitude accomplish?
1. Gratitude is the password to the presence of God. Listen to this: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.
Psalms 100:4 BSB. Jesus is the way to the Father and thanksgiving is the password that ushers us experientially into the presence of our Father God. We approach the Ancient of Days with thanksgiving in our hearts.
2. Gratitude is the key to accessing the peace of God. Listen to this: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 BSB. When we engage in Thanksgiving to God, thanking Him in all our circumstances, we will reap peace and this peace is beyond understanding.
3. Gratitude bring breakthrough during our adversity. Listen to this: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.”
Acts 16:25-26 BSB
In response to the prayers and hymns expressing gratitude, Paul and Silas experienced a breakthrough when all the closed doors were opened!
4. God fights all our enemies when we switch to the gratitude mode. Listen to this: “Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the Lord and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the Lord, for His loving devotion endures forever.” The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When the men of Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the vast army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables —more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they blessed the Lord. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day. Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. So they entered Jerusalem and went into the house of the Lord with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
2 Chronicles 20:21-28 BSBThe thanksgiving of King Jehoshaphat and his people moved God to vanquish all their enemies.
May we be transformed from being professional complainers and lamenters to being grateful enthusiastic worshippers through renewed minds. We have decided the negative focus of the world where bad news is the most traded currency. Instead our voices of gratitude will ascend to Him who is highly lifted up and seated on the throne.
The stanza of this hymn, which will also serve as our prayer sums it all:
“Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise”
Glory glory Hallelujah! Amen and Amen.
