The world is just catching up to what people of faith have known for eons. To be a happy person, to ease anxiety, and to be easy to get along with, it is important to be a grateful person. Psychologists and counselors today recommend keeping a gratitude journal and writing five things a day for which we are thankful. Believers have always known this.
One thing believers know that the world may not: we know that it is important to know who it is to whom we give thanks. Our prayers are not just “Thank you” but “Thank you, God.” We do not address our prayers “to whom it may concern.” We address our prayers to the Lord of heaven and earth, to the One who may heaven and earth, to the Source of all being. It is not sufficient to appreciate the gift. We also appreciate the giver.
How do we make ourselves grateful people? We remember. We remember what God has done for us. We remember the times God has sustained us through difficult times and brought us to a safe place. We have a tendency to forget what God has done, and credit ourselves for all our blessings. We have a tendency to distort our history and think we were better than we actually were. We need help to remember the times we have benefitted from common grace, the good things that come to all people, and the times we have benefitted from saving grace, what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
In our sermon this Sunday we will talk about gratitude.