A Grateful Heart in All Seasons
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Part 1
Part 1
Introduction
Well here in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving next week.
God has laid it on my heart to begin today speaking on the vital importance of gratitude.
I know Pastor Trevor has created a 70 challenge on gratitude and I encourage everyone of you to join in
16 Rejoice always;
17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Prayer
Have you noticed how kids have such an easier time being thankful
it seems harder and harder the older we become
how children can get excited about the smallest things—a bubble, a butterfly, even a cardboard box?
I remember when TJ was young the Xbox had just come out. the video game system. He said wanted an Xbox,
So an Aunt gave him a box with an X on it
He actually enjoyed playing with it
That’s gratitude in its purest form:
seeing a gift where others see nothing special.”
Timmy and Sarah Learn About Gratitude
Timmy and Sarah Learn About Gratitude
One sunny afternoon, Timmy and Sarah were playing in the backyard while Grandpa fixed something on the porch. Sarah spotted a butterfly fluttering around the flowers. She gasped and shouted, “Timmy, look! Look at the butterfly!” She ran after it, laughing as it danced in the air.
Timmy, meanwhile, was busy trying to build a “fort” out of the big cardboard box their new toaster had come in. He peeked his head out and said, “Sarah, it’s just a butterfly. Come see my fort—it’s way cooler!”
Sarah didn’t listen. She twirled and spun with the butterfly until it flew away. Then she flopped down on the grass, smiling. “Isn’t it amazing how God makes even little things so beautiful?” she said.
Timmy rolled his eyes but kept stacking his box pieces. A moment later, the box tipped over, and he landed flat on the grass. For a second, he was mad. But then he looked up—and saw the clouds forming funny shapes in the sky. One looked like a dog, another like a giant ice cream cone.
He giggled. “Hey, Sarah, look at the clouds! That one looks like Max!” (their dog).
Sarah lay down beside him, and the two of them started pointing out shapes in the sky. Before long, they were both laughing and talking about how creative God must be to make clouds, butterflies, and even cardboard boxes fun.
Grandpa walked over and smiled. “See, kids? Gratitude isn’t just about saying ‘thank you’ for the big things, like toys or presents. It’s about noticing the little gifts God puts around us every day. When you have a grateful heart, even a box or a cloud can make you happy.”
Timmy and Sarah nodded. Sarah whispered a quick prayer, “Thank You, God, for butterflies, boxes, and clouds.” Timmy added, “And thank You for Sarah—because she reminds me to see the little things.”
Unfortunatley, as we age, and the cares of life seem to overwhelm
for many we need bigger and bigger toys to get the same reaction
As adults often lose that simple thanksgiving spirit because of worry, comparison, or focusing on what’s missing.
thats a big one.....Focusing on what we are missing instead of what we already have!
Transition:
The Apostle Paul challenges us not just to say “thank you” when life is good, but to cultivate a grateful heart in all seasons—whether in sunshine or storms.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Definition:
The expression of thanks. It’s when you act on gratitude
by speaking, singing, praying, writing, or celebrating.
Focus: Outward action.
Example:
Saying, “Thank You, Lord, for providing food on my table.”
Or hosting a Thanksgiving meal to honor God’s goodness.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
Gratitude (Being Grateful)
Gratitude (Being Grateful)
Definition:
The inner attitude or posture of the heart that recognizes blessings.
Focus: Inward awareness.
Example:
Feeling joy when you notice the sunrise, or appreciating a friend’s kindness, even before you say anything.
15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,
His heart of gratitude led to thanksgiving.
Simple Way to See It
Gratitude (Being Grateful) = What you feel inside.
Thanksgiving = How you express it outwardly.
You can be grateful in your heart, but thanksgiving is when that gratitude overflows into words and actions.
1: Gratitude is Not Seasonal—it’s Continual
1: Gratitude is Not Seasonal—it’s Continual
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…”
It should be noted, Paul wrote these words while facing persecution, not comfort.
Gratitude is not tied to circumstances but rooted in Christ.
Illustration:
think of it this way
Be a thermostat, not a thermometer
Gratitude sets the atmosphere rather than just reacting to it.
Challenge:
The question we should ask ourselves is this:
Is our gratitude only a reaction to blessing?
Are you only grateful when good things are happening?
Or is it a daily discipline of the heart?
its like this....
Many people see it this way
Good things happen....then I’m grateful
but what Paul is saying here is:
Be grateful........so good things will happen
Its flipping it upside down
best part is What Paul is teaching removes dissapointment
If you wait for good thing to happen before you are grateful. you are miserable in the mean time
and when something good does happen, its fleeting, because you immediately start looking for the next thing you are missing!
But.....(Big But) If you choose to be grateful its within you all the time
whether going though the valleys or rising to the mountaintops!
Application:
Don’t just wait for harvest, birthdays, or breakthroughs.
Wake up each day and, choose to be Grateful.
It literally is a act of your will to do so
But you may say “I don’t feel like it!”
So what!!!!
Stop letting your emotions control you
instead dictate emotions how you are going to feel.
Thats what David did
David often spoke to his own soul in the Psalms,
telling his emotions, thoughts, and even his will to “get in line” with God’s truth.
Here are some key passages:
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
11 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
David acknowledges his discouragement,
then tells his soul what to do: hope in God and praise Him.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Here David commands his soul to worship and remember God’s goodness, even if his emotions want to forget.
5 My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
David instructs his soul to rest in God rather than in circumstances.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
David literally tells his soul: settle down and rest—because of God’s past faithfulness.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
Instead of letting emotions rule, David trains his soul into contentment and peace.
David often preached to himself when his feelings didn’t line up with Gods truth.
He didn’t deny his emotions, He didn’t bury them
rather he directed them. He told his soul:
“Hope. Praise. Rest. Remember. Be content.”
Remember David was probably one of the most emotional persons God ever created.
Yet David did not want his emotions to dictate his reality
He wanted God’s truth to be His reality
Was this easy for David?not in the slightest
But whoever said doing the right thing is easy?
Gratefully we are not alone in this,
Holy Spirit is here to help our emotions come into alingment with the Fathers will!
2: Gratitude Shifts Perspective
2: Gratitude Shifts Perspective
Gratitude changes how we see trials.
Instead of “Why me?”
we can say, “Lord, what are You teaching me through this?”
Biblical Example:
Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16).
They prayed and sang hymns of thanksgiving at midnight
and the prison shook.
Gratitude unlocked freedom.
Illustration:
Looking at life through “gratitude glasses”
what once looked ordinary now shines with God’s fingerprints.
Application:
Keep a “gratitude journal.”
Each morning when you wake up, write three things you’re thankful for
even small ones. It starts you off on the right step
Over time, you’ll see God’s hand everywhere.
3: A Grateful Heart Testifies to the World
3: A Grateful Heart Testifies to the World
Simply put Gratitude is contagious.
People notice when you give thanks in hardship.
because its extra ordinary
Story: Job, who said,
21 He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Now you may think Job said this tongue in cheek
but I beleive he was being open and honest
He understood everything comes from God, and God can do what He wants.
Now we have the advantage of verses like
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Job never had that verse, it wasn’t recorded yet!
But Job still trusted God
His gratitude became a testimony of faith.
Even to his wife who said
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
When we choose gratitude, we declare, “My God is bigger than my situation.”
Your Life is not dictated by how you feel, instead its in the hands of the Loving ,all Powerful God
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
This truth is also reflected in the letter to the Church in Rome
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
and Peter reinterated this same sentiment
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Let’s let gratitue reign in our hearts
No matter what we are asked to face
Application:
We give a time every Sunday to share your testimomies,
having a grateful heart makes this alot easier
I pray this time we set aiside becomes something we as a church will have to limit. because so many of you will want to come forward to share what God is doing in you!
At the dinner table, ask family members to share one thing they’re grateful for this week.
Conclusion
To wrap this up
A grateful heart is not seasonal but continual life experience;
it shifts perspective and testifies to the world.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Call to Action:
This week, don’t just celebrate Thanksgiving—live it.
Choose gratitude every morning, in trials and triumphs, in plenty and in want.
Pastor Trevor has created a 70-Day Gratitude Challenge
https://revtrev.link/thanks
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
“Father, give us hearts that overflow with gratitude—not only when life is easy but when challenges come. Teach us to see Your hand in all circumstances, and let our thanksgiving be a testimony that points others to Jesus. Amen.”
