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We’ve heard two great messages on giving thanks, why it is important and how it is a response to God’s mercy. This morning I would like to talk about the importance of giving thanks every day to Adonai, and to those around us. Let’s begin with Luke 17:11-19, which unfortunately reveals how most human beings treat the importance of being grateful:

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Yeshua traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Yeshua, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Yeshua’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Yeshua asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

All 10 experienced physical healing, but it was the faith and gratefulness shown by the Samarian that allowed him to experience spiritual healing as well. He showed the correct attitude we should have to God’s blessings, overwhelming gratitude.

I think if we are honest with ourselves most of us operate like the other nine lepers. We tend to forget about God, especially after He has answered our prayers or blessed us. The ease in which we forget to be thankful can be even be seen when Jewish tradition reminds us to pray. It is Jewish tradition to pray after the meal and not before it. This is because we are more likely to forget to thank the Lord once we have been satisfied.

Did you know that according to Barna Research, there was a tremendous spike after 9/11 in people attending religious services, but by the next year it had returned to the same levels as before 9/11? Once people’s fear went down, they forgot about the Lord. We tend to be much better at counting our bruises than counting our blessings.

Our lack of being thankful every day can also show up in our relationships with one another. We can forget to be thankful towards people in our lives. We might assume that they know how we feel, or we just forget to make it known. This can make us seem ungrateful, prideful, or cause other issues.

So, what is the solution to these issues? How can we give thanks every day? By treating gratefulness as a spiritual discipline. By making gratefulness part of the rhyme of our lives like prayer.

This is not a new idea. God’s Word tells us that giving thanks is as much a command for our lives as having joy or prayer. We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Messiah Yeshua.” Every day the Lord blesses us. By taking the time to praise Him for our lives and all the ways He has provided for us, we cultivate an attitude of humble gratitude that gives us a positive, heaven-oriented perspective.

So, we are commanded to be thankful in all circumstances, which can be more difficult depending on the day or season we are in.

When we are suffering or depressed it can be very hard to imagine times when we weren’t that way. It can be hard to give thanks when you feel everything is coming down around you. Yet, we have many psalms with King David giving thanks to God, despite his very difficult circumstances. The only way we can successfully give thanks during these darker times is by training ourselves through the Holy Spirit every day. If being thankful is a habit before we reach these times, then it can help give us a Godlier perspective on our situations. Gratitude can help us overcome our present condition and give us a more hopeful attitude.

As A.W. Tozer once said, “Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.” We do not need specialized training or money to give thanks. Each one of us can give thanks to God and to one another. Giving thanks enriches us because it helps us to be humbly aware how dependent we are on God and one another. That we are not moving through this life alone but that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

We can also give thanks to all those who walked before us. Those who were martyred for our shared hope. We can give thanks for Great theologians, Bible translators, teachers, and people who have impacted our lives. We can remember and be thankful for everyone the Lord used to bring us to Him. All those who have trained us up, helped us when we were in need, and prayed for us too. Many of the great teachers and witnesses have passed on to God’s eternal glory but as we say in Jewish tradition, may their memory be a blessing to us. We can be thankful for the live that they lived and how God used them in a powerful way.

We also need to be thankful for one another. Taking the time to acknowledge people who make an impact on us and how much we appreciate them. I can be guilty of just assuming that someone knows how I feel about them. But it is important to remind one another of what they mean to us. This isn’t just for our significant others or friends, but also the people who we encounter in our congregations, jobs, and life, for their roles in our lives.

In our congregations it is good to acknowledge everyone who serves. Those who prepare the Onegs, teach our children, lead us in worship, greet us at the door, help with making us feel secure, and all the other areas that make our community continue to move. Not everyone is good at receiving gratefulness, but we need to be willing to give and receive in this area. Each of us need to cultivate the habit of blessing others and allow them to bless us.

So, as we go into this season of thankfulness, it is my prayer that each one of us would be stuffed to the brim with gratitude. Full of thanks for Adonai, for those who came before, and for everyone who has positively impacted our lives in big and small ways. Every day may we give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His love for us endures forever.