Gratitude Works

Joey Thompson, Pastor, Clayton Baptist Church

We all love to hear these words. Yet, these words seemed to be so absent in today’s culture - especially in the last two to three years. These two words can make your day, flip your lid, and help your business. What are they? The two most beautiful words in life, business, ministry, or any other relationship: thank you. We try to tell our kids and their friends as much as we can that most of being successful in this life is about being grateful which means saying…

Thank you! You will stand out from everyone else by having an attitude of gratitude. You will notice for centuries that people who have a habit of saying thank you have had thriving marriages, families, businesses, and ministries. Saying thank you with a smile on your face is infectious. Gratitude can spread like wildfire when expressed genuinely and freely.

No Thank You? We all know what it is like to do something for someone and not hear thank you. Hearing thank you after you have done something or given something to someone makes you want to give again or even more. Perhaps, there is a charity or a ministry that you have helped in some way. You remember them more if someone tells you thank you or sends a card. We show respect to others when we express our thanks. Someone who gives is called gracious. The word for an unthankful person is ingrate. Both words have the root word of grace, or gratitude.

Overflowing Gratitude. The apostle Paul said we were to be “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. - Colossians 2:7. Think of all of the blessings that we have in our relationships, America, living in a great community like Rabun County. Just think if your circumstances were different. I get it. We are living in an increasingly busy world. We may forget to express thanks to someone for a kindness shown to us. We intend to thank them. We just don’t execute because we procrastinated or, her twin sister, we became distracted.

The Practice of Gratitude. I need some help sometimes. What are some practical ways to remember to express gratitude first to God for all that He has done for us in Christ, and second, to others that encourage me or that I want to bless.

• Invest time alone with God every day in His Word. Start with the Psalms or the book of John if you are a first timer.

• Pray. Pour your heart out to Him. Start thanking Him for who He is and what He has done.

• Make it automatic. Don’t even think about it. Just tell them thank you: God, other people. It’s contagious. Thank your server at the restaurant or when they help you at the hardware store.

• Use their name. I try to remember people’s name if I meet them for the first time. We have a lot of people moving into our area. Remembering their name shows that they matter and that you care.

The Source of Our Gratitude. Paul says it above: our gratitude comes from being rooted and built up in Christ. He created us to know and worship Him. This is the one reason that you were placed upon this planet in 2023. God created you for Himself. We rebelled against Him through our sin. Jesus chose to leave the splendor of heaven to become one of us. As the only innocent person to ever live, He died a criminal’s death, unjustly arrested and tried, on the cross for you and me. On top of that, He forgave us when we believed in Him. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you were given the Holy Spirit of God whereby you were permanently unified with Christ to never be separated again (not even death - Romans 8)! He promises a future with Him living and reigning with Him as He will one day rule this universe from this world. I may have problems. Sure, we all have issues. However, all of my problems pale in comparison to everything that I have RIGHT NOW in Christ. Next, think about your future. Paul goes on to say that we lack the physical and mental faculties to even picture the great future God has in store for us.

“However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”--the things God has prepared for those who love him.”1 Corinthians 2:9

The source of our gratitude is Jesus here, now, and the future. Will you trust Him today? We are here to help at claytonbaptistchurch.com.