Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I am Steve McDonald. Today’s topic is Live a Life of Gratitude and Faith as we wrap up our series Gratitude and Trusting God’s plan.
In this series, we have explored the impact of gratitude in our walk of faith and in our relationship with God. We learned how important it is to have a posture of gratitude, regardless of our circumstances. We discussed the importance of trusting God with a posture of thanks, even if we don’t know His plan or how He will respond to our prayer. We even talked about the importance of gratitude in every season of our lives. Seasons of abundance and seasons of difficulty should not distract us from a posture in which we express our gratitude to God for all of the ways He shows up in our lives.
Today, let’s talk about tangible ways to live a life of gratitude and trust. Let’s apply what we have learned in the series to some everyday scenarios that all of us will face at one point or another.
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Forgive
One of the most difficult things we can do in stressful and painful relationships is to forgive. It is not in our nature to forgive. We must learn to do it, leaning on strength that only God can give. When someone has wronged us or hurt us, ‌we may harden our hearts or even plan revenge to hurt them in return.
God asks us to forgive. Living a life of gratitude and trusting in God means trusting God fully with the situation of how we have been wronged and finding it in our hearts to forgive.
Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. We can and should do whatever we can to protect ourselves from those who are at the source of harm. We should, however, seek a posture of forgiveness, regardless of the circumstances, as this shows our trust in God to handle the situation and ensure that justice is done.
In my life, I have had a few situations in my career where I was truly wronged by someone in the workplace. These three situations have occurred at different times along my journey of faith and knowing God. In the first situation, I confess, my response was not very godly at all. I wanted to punish the individual involved. The second and third instances occurred at a point in my life where I knew God and I knew of His teachings; that I should forgive those who had wronged me. I was tempted to lash out and retaliate in these two situations, but I remembered that I need only trust in God. I will never forget what others did to me, but I forgive everyone involved in all three very painful moments in my life and my career, and I trust God provided justice in return for the unfairness and injustice directed toward me.
Give
One of the most powerful things we can do in every season of life is ‌give.
There are of course many ways to give. We can give our possessions away. We can give money. We can give of our time.
In seasons of great abundance, we should consider that God provides this abundance and therefore we should -seek out- opportunities to share this abundance with others. If we go a step further and ask God to use us as He sees fit, we may find ourselves with even more abundance than we know what to do with – so that we can ‌give from this abundance to others who are in need. From this place of abundance, we can give to causes that are important to us. We can give the possessions we no longer need or want to a donation center so that others can make use of what we once made use of ourselves.
In seasons of struggle, there is also an opportunity to give. In fact, God sees our circumstances and will bless our efforts to give even when we have very little to give ‌. A good example is the Christian practice of tithing. Tithing is setting aside 10% of income – even if that 10% creates a financial burden, to give to the church. It’s believed that God will use this tithe to bless others through the church. It is also believed that in this act of faith, God will also ensure that the tither has everything they need. Similarly, anyone who gives in an act of trust and faith, regardless of their religious disposition, can -trust- that God will supply everything they need.
Serve
Today we have talked about two ways that we can make gratitude and trust part of our lives. The last concept I would like to explore is the idea of service. Yes, serving is giving, but I am mentioning it today because I want to place attention on -how- we can serve. It is very easy to give. To give, you can go on a website and enter a credit card number and send money to a cause that is important to you. Maybe you see a homeless individual on the street and you decide to give them the $5 bill that is in your pocket. Yes, these are absolutely wonderful ways to give.
Serving, on the other hand, goes deeper. Serving requires our time, our energy, and our focus ‌in a way that is meaningful and impactful. Serving involves putting ourselves out there in a way that may not be easy, convenient, or comfortable – but is focused on providing for others. In the act of serving, we also serve God. God may actually -use- you to provide for someone who has prayed for assistance.
Here is a quick example. The homeless person you see on the street is an opportunity to serve. Instead of giving them the $5 bill in your pocket, why not say hello and ask if there is something you can purchase for them – a meal, a warm beverage – or both. Maybe it is taking out the time to buy a bag of groceries that can provide them with food for another week. This is an example of serving and an excellent way to show gratitude to God for the ability to provide in this way. We can serve others in so many ways. We can help a neighbor without transportation to run errands. We can provide company to someone who lives alone. We can lift and encourage someone who is having a difficult time in life.
If we ask God to use us, God will direct our paths to the place and time that we can assist others in need. Let serving be a fundamental part of your life as one way to express gratitude to God for all that He provides for you.
Wrap Up
In today’s message, we wrapped up our series Gratitude and Trusting God’s Plan by discussing practical ways to show gratitude and trust in God. We talked about forgiveness. It is important to forgive others who have wronged us. The world’s way is retribution and revenge, but a way of life that places -trust- in God is a life that we hand over our hurts to Him. God is the only one who can ensure there is complete and fair justice when there has been wrongdoing. We do not need to forget, but we can forgive – placing our trust in God. We talked about the act of giving. One way to show gratitude to God is to give in every season. In seasons of abundance, we give from our abundance to others in need and causes important to us. This could be money or possessions we no longer use or need. When we are in a season of hardship and struggle, we can still give what we can. God will see our act of giving in these times as practicing faith and trust that He will provide. God can and will multiply what you give in these times and ensure that you will still have what you need. The last thing we discussed was the importance of service. Giving is important, but serving is giving to a whole new level. Serving is setting aside time and resources to help others. For example, instead of helping a homeless individual by handing them a $5 bill from your pocket, you can serve them by asking what you can get for them – such as a meal or even groceries. Serving others could be visiting a neighbor that you know lives alone or providing words of encouragement to someone experiencing difficulty in life.
It’s easy to get caught up in our circumstances day to day – be it a life of great abundance or a life of great struggle and even suffering. In any season of life it is important to maintain a posture of gratitude and thanks to God. God is aware of every aspect of our lives, but He delights when we -make- the time to place our trust in Him and give of ourselves in the process.
Make gratitude and trust an essential part of your relationship with God each day!
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word: Life a Live of Gratitude and Trust
