Part 2 Gratitude is a Gift

Introduction:

What are some things you do to benefit yourself and be healthy?

Eat right, exercise, get enough sleep.

What counterintuitive things do we do or happen, that although painful, bring growth, life and health?

Tear muscle build it.

Seed dies to bring new life.

Caterpillar in cocoon turn ugly worm into beautiful butterfly.

What commands did God give us in the Bible help us get healthy?

The Sabbath

Food Regulations

I’m going to add one more, give thanks.

What is the listener’s intent? What is the obstacle? What is the plan? What is the result?

Gratitude makes us better.

Gratitude improves our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

What I mean by this is that there are benefits we receive from being thankful. There are good things that happen to us solely because we are thankful.

Psalm 92 ESV

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. 1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. 4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5 How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! 6 The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: 7 that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; 8 but you, O Lord, are on high forever. 9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered. 10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. 11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

To give thanks is יָדָה vb. to give thanks, praise. Describes the act of giving thanks and praise to God. Frederick, J. (2014). Praise and Thanksgiving. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

1. Gratitude is a benefit from God.

Matthew 15:36 NIV

36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.

Jesus gave thanks before the miracle of feeding the 5,000 John 6:11

John 11:41 NIV

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.

Jesus gave thanks at the resurrection of Lazarus

Matthew 26:27 NIV

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.

Jesus gave thanks at the last supper the night before his crucifixion Mark 14:23, Luke 22:17

Gratitude is a godly quality.

Do you want to be like God? Be thankful.

Do you think you are like God? Are you thankful?

Since Jesus is God in human form and He gave thanks throughout His life then obviously God is thankful.

2. Gratitude is a benefit for others.

Philippians 2:1–5 NIV

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Gratitude expresses value.

First is says what happened to you was of value to you.

Second it says the person who benefitted you is of value to you.

It is a loving thing to do. It is the acknowledgement that someone else acted nobly, unselfishly, thoughtfully toward you.

Matthew 22:35–39 NIV

35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Gratitude expresses love.

Can you love someone and not be thankful for them?

Do you love someone for whom you are thankful?

There are many facets of love. At it’s core, love is delight. Think of the person you love the most. Are you thankful for that person? Yes.

Gratitude is one of the ways we express love. There are other ways but it is an important way.

3. Gratitude is a benefit for us.

It is like fasting (https://www.cleverism.com/10-benefits-of-fasting/),

It is like taking a sabbath (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-25598-006)

It is like not eating pork before it was known about its’ health risks. (https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/gen_info/faqs.html)

These are commanded in the Bible but the Bible doesn’t tell us why. Gratitude is in the same category as these command.

Psalm 92:1–3 ESV

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.

Gratitude improves our health.

mentally

spiritually

physically

“Close your eyes and relax. Shift your attention away from the mind to the area around your heart. If it helps you to focus, put your hand on your heart. Visualize your breath going in and out through the area of your heart and take very slow deep, breaths. Now focus on creating a genuine feeling of appreciation and care for someone or something positive in your life. Really try to feel the emotion of appreciation, not just the thought. Try to sincerely sustain those feelings of appreciation and love as long as you can.”

You have just heard an excerpt from instructions given by researchers at the Institute of HeartMath in Boulder Creek, California, to induce the positive emotion of “appreciation,” a state similar to, though not identical with, gratitude. They call this the “heart lock-in” technique. It consists in consciously disengaging from unpleasant emotions by shifting attention to one’s physical heart, which most people associate with positive emotions, and focusing on feeling appreciation towards someone, appreciation being an active emotional state in which one dwells on or contemplates the goodness of someone. Were you able to do it? Some people find that it is helpful to place their hand over their heart while they focus. Because it is pleasant, desirable, and focused in a specific area of one’s life, appreciation is one of the most concrete and easiest of the positive emotions for individuals to self-induce and sustain for long periods. Heart math researchers believe that heart the heart communicates with the brain and the rest of the body through various communication systems and that through these systems, the heart has a significant influence on the function of our brains and all our bodily systems.

Rollin McCraty, the founder of Heart math, has developed analytic procedures for taking heart rate (normally measured in beats per minute) and mathematically converting it to a user-friendly index using something called power spectral density analysis. This procedure produces a heart rhythm pattern that reflects a noninvasive or indirect test of “neural cardiac function”-basically, healthy or unhealthy communication between the heart and the brain. Heart rhythm patterns associated with appreciation differs markedly from those associated with relaxation and anger. Even when we are experiencing a desirable internal state of relaxation, our hearts may not be functioning in and as efficient a manner as when we cultivate appreciation these patterns are shown in figure 3.1.

As we experience emotional reactions such as anger, frustration, anxiety, and insecurity, our heart rhythms become incoherent or jagged, interfering with the communication between the heart and brain. This jagged pattern is evident in the top panel. Negative emotions create a chain reaction in the body-blood vessels constrict, blood pressure rises, and the immune system is weakened. This kind of consistent imbalance can put a strain on the heart and other organs and eventually lead to serious health problems.

On the other hand, when we experience heartfelt emotions such as love, caring, appreciation, and compassion, the heart produces coherent or smooth rhythms that enhance communication between the heart and brain. This smooth, sine-like pattern can be seen in the bottom panel of figure 3.1.

Positive heart qualities produce harmonious rhythms that are considered to be indicators of cardiovascular efficiency and nervous system balance. They’ve also been shown to produce beneficial effects that include enhanced immunity and hormonal balance. When people consciously experience appreciation and gratitude, they can restore the natural rhythms of the heart.

Studies have shown “showed measurable physical changes resulting from cultivation appreciation cultivating appreciation and other positive emotions.… In a study of 30 subjects, a 23% average reduction in the stress hormone cortisol and a 100% increase in a hormone known as DHEA (which reflects a state of physiological relaxation” were found after one month of practice. Increases in DHEA were significantly correlated with increases in “warm heartedness” (represented by kindness, appreciation, tolerance, and compassion), whereas decreases in cortisol were significantly correlated with decreases in perceived stress. (Pages 70-72 Thanks! by Robert A. Emmons, Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston, 2007.)

Gratitude is a gift from God. It is good to give thanks.