Remaining Grateful
By Pastor Jim Weaver
A Thanksgiving devotional to refocus your heart and mind for the Lord during this special season...
As you read today’s devotional, pay special attention to the scriptures and concepts. At the end of your reading, there are discussion questions for you and your family and friends as you sit around the table or in your living room! Make your discussion time memorable and enjoy God’s presence as you talk about the importance of gratitude in your life as a Christian!
It’s that time of year again! Thanksgiving is upon us, the fall leaves have dropped and we’re settling in for a cozy holiday season. The actual Thanksgiving holiday has a rich and diverse history throughout the centuries, but in most traditions, we know it as a day to share a meal where family, friends, and even strangers come together to remember and appreciate their blessings. As believers in Jesus Christ we take it a step further, using the day as a time of gratitude to our Heavenly Father Who has given us way more than any of us have ever deserved. The greatest gifts we have are forgiveness and eternity in heaven because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross!
“Giving thanks” is a steady theme in scripture, but in our culture, gratitude is platonic at best and forgotten at worst. Instead, we tend to look for all the reasons to complain about life. You know the adage: “misery loves company!” We tend to enjoy commiserating with other people on all our woes rather than celebrating our blessings. It’s easier to complain about the weather than comment on how nice it is! I once worked in retail and our training taught us if someone has a good experience with the business, they’ll tell two people. If they have a bad experience, they’ll tell ten!
At Refuge Church, we emphasize the importance of building our faith in God day by day and we like to consider each concept of our faith as a building block in our faith-foundation. Often, we’re looking for a massive revelation to add to our spiritual foundation while neglecting the most important stones. This leaves weaknesses in our spiritual structure. When was the last time you worked on your gratitude? It’s a vital foundation stone to have in your faith-walk with God. Today, we emphasize learning and growing in the area of gratitude. As we do, our walk with Jesus will develop the richness and authenticity that we long for!
Getting to the heart of Thanksgiving, this holiday should, perhaps, be one of the most important. It’s a reminder to our heart, soul and mind that we are not our own provider and we are not our own Savior. We have all been truly blessed—even in the midst of our hardships. We are not promised tomorrow. We have sufficient grace for today to aim our hearts and lives at Jesus and remain grateful no matter what, even in our fallen world.
Did you know that giving thanks is God’s will for our lives? Maybe you’ve thought, “I just wish I knew what God’s will was for my life.” It may sound overly simplistic, but the Word of God makes clear what God’s will is for our lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We may need specific direction in certain areas of our lives. There may be things we ask God for clarity on. There is one thing absolutely certain, even when we’re uncertain about everything else: we are to be thankful and grateful to Jesus no matter what!
Even so, there are several enemies to our gratitude. There are things that come against our capacity to remain thankful in our lives. I’d like to talk about a few of them for a few minutes by mining these truths out of a parable that Jesus told in Matthew 20:1-16.
Ungrateful Servants
Matthew 20:1-16 NKJV
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. 11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”
One of the first and most sinister enemies to gratitude that we will encounter is the temptation to be entitled.
Entitlement
Entitlement can be defined as thinking we have a right to something simply because we exist. It’s our flesh supposing we will receive more because we deserve it somehow. Notice what happened when the landowner began to distribute the workers’ pay:
Matthew 20:10-15 NKJV
10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.11And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ 13 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
Have you ever resented someone because of what they received? Notice that the laborers that worked longer felt entitled to a better wage than those who worked less. Put yourself in their shoes. You knew that what you were receiving was what you agreed to in the beginning. Once you saw that others who you regarded as less deserving got the same that you agreed to receive for yourself, you assumed you’d receive more. This is a self-elevating assumption of your own status in comparison to someone else. It’s a recipe for resentment! This is a dangerous place to find ourselves. This is the definition of judgment. “I’ve judged you deserve less and I deserve more.” Judgment will get us in trouble every time.
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV (emphasis added)
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged;
and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Entitlement steals gratitude because you will never think that what you have is good enough. Because you are alive and breathing, you’ll think you’ve earned and deserve something better. It causes you to think that what you have is not good enough and you’ll stop being thankful for it at all. Often this will lead to jealousy.
These first laborers in the field represent a believer who faithfully serves God all their life and then gets the same reward as the one who got saved under the wire. Maybe they came to Christ on their deathbed after living a sinful life separated from God and they still got eternity with Jesus in heaven, which is the reward the one who has served Jesus their whole life will get as well. This can happen with many things, so it’s important to always evaluate our hearts.
This entitlement is especially sinister when we are comparing our spirituality with other people. As a sinful human being, what are we actually entitled to? We are all sinners before Christ, which means our only entitlement is eternal separation from God in hell. The gift of salvation is simply that: a gift! Everyone who receives it is blessed by God no matter when it happens.
The next thing that we see from our story of the landowner and the workers is that the workers got caught up in comparison!
Comparison
Matthew 20:11-12 NKJV (emphasis added)
11 And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
Comparison is considering two things in regard to a shared characteristic that is common to both. Those laborers that worked longer were certain they would receive more by comparison. They assumed they were ‘better’ in the landowner’s eyes because of the extra effort they gave. When we get our eyes off of our own prize—Jesus and His rich presence—we will naturally start to compare our worth with the worth of others. The danger in this trap is that we will measure ourselves positively while measuring someone else negatively. To top it off, we will generally try to justify our judgment in order to prove it to the one who is rewarding us. We love to ‘tattle’ on the one we’ve deemed is lower than ourselves in order to elevate our own position.
Notice the heart of what these workers said: “These men didn’t work nearly as much as we did. We deserve more.”
Comparison will cause us to complain. Complaining will make us bitter and cynical and will cause us to see others as ‘out to get us’ instead of as a soul to win for Jesus. We will then begin to live in discontentment.
Discontentment
Matthew 20:11 NKJV (emphasis added)
11 And when they had received it [their pay], they complained against the landowner…
Discontentment at its core is dissatisfaction. This is a desire that is never satisfied and a craving for something you don’t have. For the workers in Jesus’ story, their wage wasn’t enough even though they had agreed to it originally. The landowner had kept his word, but because the original workers’ wage was the same as the others who didn’t work as long, what was once enough was no longer enough.
Have you ever received something magnificent that lost its luster when you saw what someone else received? Did you appreciate your car until your neighbor got one better or newer than yours? Did you enjoy your wedding ring until your friend’s wedding ring had more karats than yours? Did you love your vacation to the lake until you saw the pictures of your friend’s trip to Disneyland? Did you love the thought of being with Jesus for eternity until you realized that the person who just found Christ will get the same reward as you when you’ve actually served Jesus longer?
Gratitude will keep your perspective in place. You will get what you agreed to. By His grace, God will give the same inheritance to others as He gave to you. None of us deserve God’s kindness, but He is willing to give it to all who will receive Him! We must remain humble and grateful to make sure we don’t resent the gift God gives to someone else. You see, by becoming discontent, we are actually judging God’s ability to give His good gifts to anyone He pleases. We have to remember, God is God. We are not.
The landowner in Jesus’ parable reminded the first workers that his word was never compromised. He was faithful to his promise of giving a certain wage. He never defrauded them. They simply assumed, because of a lack of gratitude, that he would pay more to them because they deserved it more. The landowner was quick to point out that his integrity and character were intact. In the same way, God’s character and integrity in relation to His released blessings are completely intact. He never changes. His promises are always secure. He is always faithful. He is worthy of our praise. And He is worthy of our gratitude!
To remain grateful and stay in God’s will, we must trust that God is our Good Shepherd. He knows best and He can see into our future more clearly.
Psalm 23:1-6 NKJV (Emphasis added)
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
This Thanksgiving, take a few moments to evaluate your gratitude. Set down the hectic schedule, take in the special people around you and the traditions your family has established, and contemplate your blessings. Thank God for His kindness and salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Thank Him for your family and friends. Appreciate the rich food, comfortable home, and the new memories you’re making. Though you may be walking through a trial or you might be missing someone deeply today, remember to give thanks in everything for this is God’s will for you! (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Discussion Questions
Do you tend to operate in discontent, or can you usually find things to be thankful for everyday?
Think of something you would really like? Something big! Now imagine that you never receive it as long as you live. How does that make you feel?
Now, think of how you’d react if someone else received that blessing instead of you. Does this reveal anything about your heart, character and soul?
Pick out one thing or person in your life that you are truly grateful for. Say it out loud and take a moment to thank God for His blessing to you.
If you never received another blessing in your life other than the assurance that you are forgiven and saved, would you be ok with that? Why or why not?