Gratitude is a catalyst to gospel growth in our lives.
Or, as Colin Powell would say, it is a force multiplier.
I heard Colin Powell speak at a leadership event years ago and he talked about how military leaders are always looking for force multipliers - elements that are natural to the environment and will increase the effectiveness of your strength. It might be a hill to come down or a ravine to travel up through or a line of trees to use as cover.
In the Christian life, it is gratitude. We can see this in a number of passages, like this one:
But we aren't just commanded to keep it - we are told how. Sensing God's nearness, we are to bring pray and make our request to God with thanksgiving.
As a new believer, I tried to follow this command. I would fight anxiety. I would rebuke it. I would beat myself up over it. I would stop in the middle of the situation and pray. I would list a catalog of things I was thankful for - well, at least a list of things I knew I should be thankful for.
And, guess what? It didn't work. I knew the failure had to be with me, so I would simply redouble my efforts and work harder. Pray harder. Thank God for more stuff. And it still didn't work.
What was I missing?
Simply this: listing things I was thankful for was not the same as making my request from a heart position of gratitude.
When we are anxious, we need the peace that the gospel brings. It is a peace unlike any other. It is the result of knowing we are God's and he is ours. That we are absolutely secure - not because we have reached out and taken hold of him, but because he has reached out and taken hold of us. He gave us his best when we were at our worst - and so we live in the expectation of more and greater blessing as we get a more and greater experience of his love for us.
Gratitude is the force multiplier that unleashes the peace of God in our lives. But it has to be a real heart attitude of gratitude. I have found that I can't get to that place of real and lasting thankfulness by just thanking God for stuff. I have to preach the gospel to my heart. I have to remind myself that God loves me, and that he has demonstrated that love by giving me his best. I have to preach the greatness of God's love to my heart - and as I do, I have found that gratitude is the byproduct.
And there is only room for one thing in our hearts: anxiety or gratitude. Either anxiety will drive gratitude out or gratitude will drive anxiety out. So the solution isn't to fight against anxiety - it is to fight for thankfulness.
The solution is to get better at preaching the gospel to ourselves. Then we will know how to obey this command.
To hear more on this, listen to the message I gave to The Journey: Metro East on this.
Or, as Colin Powell would say, it is a force multiplier.
I heard Colin Powell speak at a leadership event years ago and he talked about how military leaders are always looking for force multipliers - elements that are natural to the environment and will increase the effectiveness of your strength. It might be a hill to come down or a ravine to travel up through or a line of trees to use as cover.
In the Christian life, it is gratitude. We can see this in a number of passages, like this one:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.The Bible is full of crazy commands. Like this one: Do not be anxious. About anything. Ever. Ever tried to obey that one? Yeah, how's that going for you?
(Philippians 4:4-7 ESV)
But we aren't just commanded to keep it - we are told how. Sensing God's nearness, we are to bring pray and make our request to God with thanksgiving.
As a new believer, I tried to follow this command. I would fight anxiety. I would rebuke it. I would beat myself up over it. I would stop in the middle of the situation and pray. I would list a catalog of things I was thankful for - well, at least a list of things I knew I should be thankful for.
And, guess what? It didn't work. I knew the failure had to be with me, so I would simply redouble my efforts and work harder. Pray harder. Thank God for more stuff. And it still didn't work.
What was I missing?
Simply this: listing things I was thankful for was not the same as making my request from a heart position of gratitude.
When we are anxious, we need the peace that the gospel brings. It is a peace unlike any other. It is the result of knowing we are God's and he is ours. That we are absolutely secure - not because we have reached out and taken hold of him, but because he has reached out and taken hold of us. He gave us his best when we were at our worst - and so we live in the expectation of more and greater blessing as we get a more and greater experience of his love for us.
Gratitude is the force multiplier that unleashes the peace of God in our lives. But it has to be a real heart attitude of gratitude. I have found that I can't get to that place of real and lasting thankfulness by just thanking God for stuff. I have to preach the gospel to my heart. I have to remind myself that God loves me, and that he has demonstrated that love by giving me his best. I have to preach the greatness of God's love to my heart - and as I do, I have found that gratitude is the byproduct.
And there is only room for one thing in our hearts: anxiety or gratitude. Either anxiety will drive gratitude out or gratitude will drive anxiety out. So the solution isn't to fight against anxiety - it is to fight for thankfulness.
The solution is to get better at preaching the gospel to ourselves. Then we will know how to obey this command.
To hear more on this, listen to the message I gave to The Journey: Metro East on this.
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