Dr. Rick Mandl - November 5, 2020
From Grumbling To Grateful
Devotional Manuscript: From Grumbling To Grateful
Message by Dr Rick Mandl, November 5, 2020.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Hey church family, are you good at math? Regardless of how you answer that question, it seems that the hardest arithmetic for us to do is count our blessings. Have you ever paused to think about how often have we fail to thank God for all he has done and yet He still continues to pour out His gracious blessings on us, even in difficult times? Gratitude ought to be one of the defining marks a Christian at all times.
Psalm100 tells us that was are to "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name" (Psalm 100:4 NLT). The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17 NIV).
King David did this in Psalm 103. It's believed David wrote this psalm during one of the darkest times of his life. But instead of whining about his circumstances, David stopped and commanded his soul to thank God for all He had done: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:" (Psalm 103:2 NKJV).
Why in the world would he command his soul to give thanks? One reason. It’s because thanksgiving doesn't come naturally to us; it has to be cultivated. One way to cultivate gratitude is to take inventory of God's blessings in your life, which David went on to do. He said that it’s God who . . . "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindess and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (vv. 3-5). Both thanksgiving and ingratitude reveal something about the state of your heart. Complaining and being ungrateful are indicators that you don't really believe God is good. But when you thank God for His blessings in every circumstance, that indicates you believe He is good and His will is perfect. "In everything give thanks," Paul said, "For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
So ask yourself this: What is it that most characterizes my life? Is it thanksgiving? Or is it complaining and ingratitude? Gratitude ought to be the attitude of the Christian.
So let me challenge you to spend some time thinking about God's benefits and blessings in your life, maybe jot them down, and thank him for those. Once you really start to think about it, I think you’re going to find you have an awful lot to be thankful for.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
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