Prepare for Thanksgiving Day to express the title
Contents
Get ready for Thanksgiving to express
Genesis 26:17-22
A book called “The Power of Gratitude,” written by Deborah Norville, a well-known host of [Inside Edition], an American in-depth news TV program, is attracting attention. One experimental result is presented in this book.
Participants were asked to express their gratitude in a specific way every day, such as writing a thank-you letter, writing down three or more gratitude notes a day, or saying thank you with a smile.
And we summarized the changes that occurred to the participants of the experiment. In a word, I came to say, “Success and happiness are now mine.” And I've listed the specific changes.
1. Changed to an optimistic personality and became active.
2. The power to overcome stress has grown.
3. I started exercising harder than before.
4. I got a good night's sleep and was noticeably healthier.
5. I became interested in various things, and I looked at the situation with an open perspective.
6. Hear from people around you that you have developed a sense of humor.
7. I have been told that I have become more determined and that I am systematically handling my work.
8. I have a reputation for being generous and kind by others.
9. I set a life goal again and worked hard to achieve it.
10. Family relationships have been strengthened.
The result was an expression of gratitude and it was an amazing change for me.
So, when I express my gratitude, both the person who does it and the person who receives it will change.
That's right. Gratitude changes the grateful me and causes positive and happy changes.
Gratitude is for yourself, not for others.
That's why God told us to be so grateful.
Gratitude has a mysterious power, and it has the mysterious power to make my life happy and the power to make the person receiving the gratitude happy.
If you look at today's text, you will see a person who knew and lived this secret of life.
There is a person who knew the power of gratitude and lived with gratitude for everything, and that is Isaac.
Isaac was driven out by Abimelech king of Gerar and stayed in the valley of Gerar. He dug a well in the valley, and thankfully water came out of the well.
But when the people of Gerar learned of this, they came and complained that it was their well.
Because Isaac had his own strength, he was able to defend the well by fighting.
But Isaac yields and withdraws.
At that time, Isaac called the name of the well “Esek,” which means “quarrel,” which is an expression of a quarrel that arose and gave up and backed away.
It was hard work to dig a well to get water, but it can be said to be thankful for being able to yield and retreat.
After that, Isaac went to another place and dug a well, but water came out again, and the shepherds of Gerar came again. They claim that even this well is theirs.
Now, it is a situation that can no longer be tolerated and a situation where we can fight a lot, but Isaac backs down again this time, and at that time Isaac called the name of the well “Sitnah”, which means “against”.
In other words, it is a situation where a big fight is about to happen, but it is an expression of patience and retreat.
We could say that we were able to protect the well by fighting with our strength, but we can say that we are grateful for being able to back down to keep the peace.
Isaac moved to another place for the third time, and this time looking for a bigger and better place to live than the previous two, he dug a well there to survive, and to his surprise, water came out again.
But this time the people of Gerar did not come, and they thought that perhaps it was because they came from far away from where the people of Gerar lived, and they decided that there was no water in this place.
Anyway, this time the well can be used with confidence.
Isaac called the well Rehoboth, which means “wide space.” It is an expression of how God made a foundation in a large space and also provided a well here.
I am thankful that I gave in twice and God gave me a much better place.
Isaac was grateful even in the face of resentment, he was grateful even in the circumstances of fighting and conflict, and he was grateful even when he gave up and backed down.
So, the condition of greater gratitude was obtained from Rehoboth's thanks, Esek's thanks, and Sitnah's thanks.
Being thankful even in situations where you can't be thankful, and being grateful for small things, you have the conditions of great gratitude.
By always expressing gratitude, the conditions for greater gratitude have arisen.
So, what should we do to live a life of expressing gratitude?
1. Think about gratitude.
In Philippians 1:3, “I give thanks to my God whenever I think of you.” Whenever Paul thought of the church in Philippi, he remembered what he was thankful for and gave thanks to God.
Paul has a wonderful attitude of faith. Every time you think, you find a condition for gratitude.
Every time I think about it, I think about what I am grateful for. So I was able to be thankful for everything.
A man had an unexpected windfall, and when a relative passed away, he left 500 million to himself as an inheritance.
The following year, when my parents passed away, I received a billion dollars as an inheritance.
The following year, when his aunt, who was living alone, passed away, he left a will to give him 200 million won.
In just three years, I received a huge sum of 1.7 billion.
The following year, this man's expression darkened and people around him asked.
“Why do you have such a dark expression even after such a great windfall?” The person replied:
“Well, no one dies this year!”
That's right. If you take the grace or gift you have received for granted, you cannot be grateful.
You can't be grateful if you always think of receiving it.
Gratitude starts with being grateful for what you have received.
Thanksgiving Sunday began when Puritans moved to the United States in search of religious freedom. In 1620, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower. Before I arrived in the United States, I went through a lot of hardship that words cannot describe. Many became sick and died.
Even after arriving in the United States, they suffered great hardship due to the interference of the Indians and the unsuitable soil and climate.
And after they planted and harvested the first year, they started Thanksgiving Day.
This is the lesson of faith they left behind at this time. “Think and be grateful!” If you don't think deeply, you will have no choice but to resent and complain.
But when I thought deeply with faith, I could not help but be thankful.
We must also take this lesson to heart. “Think and be grateful!”
2. We must confess our gratitude.
In Luke 17:16 and below, we read, “He fell at his feet and gave thanks, because he was a Samaritan.” Jesus answered and said to him, “All ten were not cleansed. Where are the nine?” Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one of them came to Jesus and confessed his thanks. The other nine must have been grateful. But he did not come to Jesus and confess his thanks.
That's right. Gratitude is revealed only when it is confessed. So there is a saying. “A song is not a song until it is sung, a bell is not a bell until it rings, and gratitude is not gratitude until it is confessed.” Gratitude is natural.
It is natural to feel grateful when you receive grace. However, confession of thanks is not something everyone can do. Only those who have the ability to confess can express gratitude.
Oprah Winfrey is currently the most influential person in America and one of the most successful women with both popularity, respect and money.
The secret to this success is “writing a gratitude journal.” I've been keeping a gratitude diary by finding five things I'm grateful for during the day since I was little.
Even now, I am still busy with my busy schedule, but what I do without skipping a day is writing this gratitude diary.
If you look at the gratitude diary written by this person, "Thank you for being able to get out of bed comfortably today", "Thank you for letting me see the exceptionally dazzling blue sky", "Thank you for making me eat delicious spaghetti at lunch", "It's disgusting" Thank you for keeping me from getting angry with a colleague of mine." “I read a good book, and I am grateful to the author who wrote it.” Through this gratitude diary, Lee learns two things. “One is what is important in life, and the other is where you should focus your life.” But we must learn this. If you live a life where you always confess your gratitude, this confession will please God. And lead me to a great life.
3. Practice gratitude.
Exodus 23:14 says, “You shall observe the feasts to me three times a year, and you shall observe the feasts of unleavened bread, and you shall eat unleavened bread seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, as I commanded you, for in that month you came out of Egypt empty-handed. Do not come out. Keep the Feast of Harvest, for you reap the firstfruits of what you sowed in the field. Keep the Feast of Ingathering, because at the end of the year you gather and store what you have worked for from the field.” These are the words of God while training His people in the wilderness.
It is to observe the feasts three times a year.
One is the Passover, a festival to be observed in gratitude for God's deliverance from Egypt.
Two and Three are the Feast of Harvest and the Feast of Ingathering, which are celebrated with thanksgiving for harvesting wheat in the spring and harvesting grapes in the fall because God made them farm.
The purpose of keeping this feast is thanksgiving.
An audit is a concrete action that must be accompanied by practice.
God's people's actions of gratitude can be summarized into the following three.
First, worship. The most essential reason we worship before God is thanksgiving.
We came to God to thank God for saving us and for giving us so many graces. And to worship him.
Second, it is a dream. Gratitude is also the most essential reason why we dedicate ourselves to God. It is also thanks to God that we do our best to give our tithes and offerings under various subjects. I am giving a gift to God in gratitude for having filled me with many things to enjoy when I came to this earth empty-handed.
Third, loyalty. Gratitude is also the most essential reason we work through sweat in the church. Gratitude is also the most essential reason for evangelizing in the midst of the world and fulfilling the mission entrusted to us.
This kind of genuine gratitude must be put into practice with concrete actions.
Gratitude is the most prominent characteristic of the Christian life. The more we believe in Jesus, the better we show our gratitude. First of all, thank you very much. Next, I express my gratitude in detail.
And we put gratitude into action.
Dear all! Next week is Thanksgiving. I hope you better express your gratitude.