Give Thanks in All Circumstances

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Give Thanks in All Circumstances NV 8/12/07pm

More than 60 scientists have been given millions of dollars in funding to help humanity find happiness. A popular movement among psychologists called "positive psychology" is an attempt to elevate and focus its research on peoples' strengths rather than only trying to deal with human weaknesses and problems.

Although the U.S. standard of living has increased since W.W. II, there is no increase in the number of people who regard themselves as happy. A U.S. News & World Report on the subject says, "Once income provides basic needs, it doesn't correlate to happiness. Nor does intelligence, prestige, or sunny weather. People grow used to new climates, higher salaries, and better cars."

Many years and millions of dollars studying and treating depression have succeeded in reducing most people's levels of sadness, but they are not necessarily happier. Researchers have found that self-esteem, spirituality, family, and good marriages and friendships are key to a happy life. So are hope, meaning, and discovering and pursuing the right goals. Even helping others to be happy can "jump-start a process that will lead to stronger relationships, renewed hope, and a general upward spiraling of happiness." Just seeing others do a good deed results in that "heartwarming" feeling and influences people to do the same.

Gratitude is another key ingredient to a happy life. People who made a daily and/or frequent practice of being thankful were "not only more joyful; they were healthier, less stressed, more optimistic, and more likely to help others."

Hope and spirituality work together to provide an important basis to a happy life. "Hope fosters optimism, and faith is, by definition, hope for the future. And the churchgoing form of faith can be a built-in social support network. This is not to say that atheists can't be happy, but it helps explain why so many do find happiness in faith, and why researchers continue to find connections between faith, optimism, and physical health."

Citation: Holly J. Morris, "Happiness Explained," U.S. News & World Report (9-03-01), pp. 46-54; submitted by Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec

1 Thessalonians 518 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

An elementary school teacher was trying to teach thankfulness to her students, so she asked them to write down all the things they could think of that they were thankful for. She walked up and down the aisles as the students wrote these things down.

     She was impressed when she came to Chad's desk because at the top of his list was the word glasses. She said, "Chad, I'm so happy to see you're thankful for your glasses. Why are you thankful for them?”

     He said, "Well, they keep the boys from hitting me and the girls from kissing me

I.      What are you thankful for this evening?

A.   Helen Keller was blind and deaf from her earliest years, and experienced life in a dark and small way at times. Yet she said this: "I have often thought that it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time early in adult life. The darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound."

B.    "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."

II.   Thankfulness does not always come naturally to most of us.

A.   There are times in life when we seem to struggle to ‘count our many blessings and name them one by one.’

B.    “All circumstances” includes the bad times as well as the good. (Illustrate – 2 tragedies in Statesville recently – murder in downtown / the loss of a mother.)

C.   Could it be that there is something much deeper in being thankful than a simple list of blessings?

D.   Maybe the term should be “gratefulness” rather than thankfulness.

III.           Consider Psalm 22

A.   vs.22, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you…25, from you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.” (Gratitude, Attitude, etc.)

B.    Consider the first 21 verses.

                   1.            Verse 6: “I am scorned by men and despised by all the people."

                   2.            Verses 7 and 8: "All who see me mock me. They hurl insults, shaking their heads. 'He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord rescue him.’"

                   3.            Verse 14 says, "I am poured out like water. All my joints are out of joint."

C.   That's the horrible part of Psalm 22, the psalm of pain and tragedy that ends with words that carry the idea of gratitude to God.

D.   We struggle in life to keep this psalm together. To have an attitude of gratitude even in times of suffering.

IV.            Are only believers grateful, or could it be that only the grateful believe.

A.   Maybe that's the theme of Psalm 22. Maybe that's what really holds the two sections of this Psalm together. Maybe it's not that believers are grateful to God but that those who are grateful to God are the ones who truly believe him. Only those of us who are truly grateful are able to ride out the storms of life that might otherwise destroy us. Only those who have an attitude of gratitude know what it means to believe.

TS] So how do we live this life according to 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (with gratitude in all circumstances) The key I believe is found in what surrounds this text. Have an attitude of Gratitude.

I.      Work Hard in Your Relationship with others. (12-15)

A.   Our greatest joys and our greatest sorrows stem from the relationships we have with others. Notice the action words.

B.    “If everybody would just leave me alone I would be alright!”

II.   Work Hard in Your Relationship with God. (19-22)

A.   What else really matters?

B.    Remember, our relationship with each other is directly proportional with our relationship with God. (1 John 1:5-9).

III.           Notice again - (16-18)

A.   This kind of joy cannot be taken from you regardless of the circumstances.

                           1.            Think, for instance, of the testimony of Job. That's what the book of Job is about. Satan says to God, "Look, Job serves you because you give him all the toys to play with. Toys first; thankfulness later. You know if you'd take all those toys away from him, he wouldn't thank you any more; he'd curse you."

                           2.            So what happens? God allows those things to take place, for all the toys to be snatched away. And then comes the surprising ending, because Job loses everything, all of those toys, all of those good things, all of that prosperity and that stability of life. Disease and disaster wipe him out. Sores cling to his body.

                           3.            Even in the middle of that tragedy, the amazing testimony of Job is that he never curses God. He defends both himself and God to his friends, and even to his wife.

B.    Prayer – Phil. 4 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

C.   When all is said and done, all our relationships are right, we have joy that comes from God, live by prayer, and possess that attitude of gratitude then we can truly be thankful continually.

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