The gratitude, an attitude that changes everything.

Illustration:

It is said that Matthew Henry, the famous minister and biblical commentator of the eighteenth century (1662-1714) was assaulted, after which some of his friends asked him how he felt. Of course, they expected to hear from him some complaint against God. However, great was his surprise when Henry replied:

"I feel very grateful to God ... in fact, I have four things to be thankful for in this that has happened to me.

First, I'm grateful because it's the first time I've been assaulted. Second, I'm grateful that my bag was stolen and they did not take my life. Third, I'm grateful to you because, even though they took everything I had, it was not much. And fourth, I'm grateful because they robbed me and it was not me who stole. "

What an example of being grateful!

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Every person in this world has reasons to complain about something. Every person in this world has reasons to be sad, upset, sorry, for something or someone. The problematic fact is that we prefer to focus on the problems and not on the blessings or on ourselves before on the others.

Every person in this world has reason to be grateful!

The main word in this verse is Thank you: "eucaristeo" (εὐχαριστέω, G2168), related to eucharist, gratitude. It is translated "give thanks".

Thanksgiving is the expression of joy towards God and towards our fellow human beings. Believers are encouraged to abound in it

Colossians 2: 6-7 "Therefore, as you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, walk in him; 7. rooted and built up in him, and confirmed in the faith, just as you have been taught, abounding in thanksgiving. "

GRATEFULNESS OF GOD

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "GIVE THANKS TO GOD IN ALL,

We give thanks to God because we understand that he is the owner of everything.

Psalm 24: 1 "The earth is the Lord's and his FULLNESS; The world and those who dwell therein".

The word of God urges us to understand that God is the generator of all the goods and situations that surround us. Even negative situations are generated or allowed by God for something or for something.

Job 5:18 "For it is he who makes the wound, and he will bind it; HIERE, and his hands heal. "

John 9: 1-3 "As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he may have been born blind? 3 Jesus answered: It is not that he has sinned, nor his fathers, but that the works of God may be manifested in him. "

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Many times we are in trouble because of bad decisions we have made.

1 Samuel 13: 9-14 "Then said Saul, Bring me a burnt offering and peace offerings. And he offered the holocaust. 10 And when he had just offered the burnt offering, behold, Samuel was coming; and Saul went out to meet him, to greet him. 11 Then Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul answered: Because I saw that the people were deserting me, and that you were not coming within the prescribed period, and that the Philistines were assembled in Michmash, 12 I said to myself: Now the Philistines will come down against me to Gilgal, and I have not implored Jehovah's favor I made an effort, and offered a burnt offering. 13 Then Samuel said to Saul, You have done madly; you did not keep the commandment of the LORD your God, which he had commanded you; for now Jehovah would have confirmed your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom will not last. Jehovah has sought a man according to his heart, whom Jehovah has appointed to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what Jehovah commanded you."

Joshua 9:15 "And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, granting them life; and also the princes of the congregation swore. 16 Three days after they made an alliance with them, they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they lived in their midst. "

The difference between these two men was that after they made their bad decision, Joshua repented and obeyed God's command and Saul did not. In every situation that we are involved in, there is a teaching that we can achieve. However, it is more for easy meat to blame than to accept and learn. That's why we get bitter and do not thank God. God says to give thanks in everything.

For the provision, for food, for health, for daily care, for salvation, for our family It was a custom of Christ to give thanks to the Father at every moment.

Mat 15:36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and broke them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and having given thanks, gave it to them, saying, Drink from it all;
John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from where the dead man had been put. And Jesus, looking up, said: Father, THANK YOU I give you for having heard me.
Paul also gave us an example in this regard. More than 40 times Paul cites giving thanks in his epistles.

Acts 28:15 where, hearing from us the brothers, they came out to meet us until the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns; and when they saw them, Paul THANK God and took a breath.
Romans 1: 8 First of all I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is spread throughout the whole world.
Christ praised the man who gave himself up to give thanks:

Luke 17: 15-18 "Then one of them, seeing that he had been healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and fell on his face to the ground at his feet, giving thanks; and this one was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus answered and said, "Is it not ten who are cleansed? And the nine, where are they? 18 There was not a man who returned and gave glory to God except this foreigner? "

We give thanks because we consider that what has been done to us is a favor. A good of which we were not worthy to receive.

Christ illustrates this fact in the following way: Luke 17: 9 "Do you thank the servant because he did what he had been commanded? I think no".

If we have an attitude of masters we will not have a grateful attitude. To be able to give thanks to God in everything, we must learn to understand that:

We are not worthy of that grace
Everything that happens has a purpose
It almost always could have been worse
If we take the experience everything can help us well, because those who love God all things help them well.
Job gives us an example of that.

Job 2:10 "And he said to him, As any of the foolish women often speak, you have spoken. What? WILL WE RECEIVE GOOD FROM GOOD, AND EVERYTHING WILL NOT RECEIVE IT? In all this Job did not sin with his lips. "

The word for fatua here is NABAL

A nabal person is a withered person, morally evil, contemptuous, little estimator, among other things. That is why such a person is not grateful. Because he wants everything for himself. All honor for himself. Everything is good if it is for me. That is not God's will.

DOING THE WILL OF GOD

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1 Thessalonians 5:18 "GIVE THANKS TO GOD IN ALL, BECAUSE THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD WITH YOU IN CHRIST JESUS."

God wants us to have a good relationship with Him and with our neighbor.

Matthew 7:12 "So, whatever you want men to do to you, so also do to them; because this is the law and the prophets. "

Talk about the First and Second Commandments on the importance of the law.

Mark 12: 29-31 "Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is: Hear, Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the main commandment. 31 And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these".

Valuing what the other does for us is what God wants us to do. It shows our own value. Show that we are made. And as we saw in Matthew Henry's illustration, we should still give thanks for the negative that they do to us, because we are grateful that those of us who are acting as fools, as nabales, as self-sufficient and evil are not us, but someone else.

Conclusion

No matter what happens in our life, there will always be enough reasons to be grateful, not only for God. Every day there are things that God does for us that keep us alive. Things we call coincidences, they are not. It is divine protection. It is God sending His angel to protect us.

It is God keeping us in health. It is God taking care of our entrance and exit. It's our wife cooking for us. They are our children supporting us and deciding to live for God. They are our friends staying by our side. Do not forget today to be grateful.