Too often we only want to thank God when we can see the evidence of His presence. When we are growing in gratitude, we are thankful in the “even though”.

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Thanksgiving is a special season for churches. A time when we need to be reminded that it is God Who supplies our needs and not man. It is God Who ordains our steps and charts the path for our lives. But are we growing in gratitude?

Graduating in Gratitude

In Deuteronomy chapter 8, the children of Israel is preparing to enter the promised land. Moses is reminding them that when they arrive they can not forget Who got them there. When we are in the wilderness we tend to forget and complain about things and forget God’s blessings and provisions He has provided.

You can be surrounded by blessings, relationships, provisions and every opportunity God provides. But if you don’t know how to turn blessings in praise, it will turn to pride in your heart and you will never be happy because your heart will have holes in it. You have to practice your gratitude. Happy people are not the ones who have the most. Happy people are people who make the most of what they have been blessed with.

Psalm 107:2
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story, those He redeemed from the hand of the foe.

Practice Gratitude

We need to open our mouths and express our gratitude, not expect others to be able to read our hearts. Moses said that while God is pouring out your blessings. Don’t just sit there and act like you have earned dit and that you deserve it. Open your mouth and praise the blesser.

Israel was just getting to know God as their provider. They had been in slavery and the wilderness, but they were about to enter the promised land and needed to learn the basics. of praise. What if God pointed out each day our appreciation is past due? Are you walking in blessings that once was your prayer requests and you haven’t taken time to say Thank you Lord?

David wrote from a different experience than Moses. David had a remarkable ability to remember where he came from. Even though his life was dysfunctional at times, he was driven by a desire to return to God Who had given all the blessings to him. In Psalm 23, he was writing from a place where all was chaotic in one area of his life. In these places, we can still say “it is well with my soul.”

Basics of Praise

God is teaching us that when the enemies gather around us it is time to sit at the table with Him and be filled with His grace and His mercy. It is time to open our mouths and acknowledge the presence of God. We can say to our enemies:

1 John 4:4
Greater is He Who is in me than he that is in the world

Psalm 59:9
You are my strength. I watch for You.

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through Him Who gives me strength.

2 Corinthians 12:9
My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.