Westside Church of Christ

We see them all the time. The ads fill the airwaves. Supplements. Balance of Nature will make a retiree feel 16 again. Super Beets will make you brand new. This pill and that capsule will restore your rusty old joints. A sip of this and a gulp of that and you’re young again. Everyone has an answer for fatigue and old age, but they miss an important ingredient. It is one of the Lord’s very best additives to improve our outlook.

Outcomes have been very impressive. It may not be perfect, but it has proven to produce positive results more often than not. It isn’t a magic elixir, but it does come highly recommended by the Great Physician. It is gratitude. A growing awareness of all of the blessings that God gives us will produce a deeper feeling of thanksgiving which in turn will increase our sense of well-being. November is the perfect month to put it into practice.

Later this month, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day that we gather with loved ones to enjoy a festive meal together. It is also a time to count our blessings, and (obviously!) give thanks. It is concentrated into a single day, and that’s a shame. It is great mental therapy every day. So, let’s express our gratitude this entire month.

Christians begin with God Himself. He alone is good (Mark 10:18). That is such a simple statement that we lose sight of how profound it is. We will never see perfect goodness in our world. Never, and that taints our notion of what it is. There is not a speck of bad in our Father. Everything in this creation is stained by it. Even the way that we see things is distorted by it. Unblemished good is beyond our experience. “Oh Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good...(Psalm 107:1).”

He gives us a point of consistency beyond the ups-and-downs of our lives. It will enable us to be thankful regardless of our circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Every life has good times and bad, happy and sad. It is a roller coaster for everyone, and it is easy to allow the conditions of the day to determine whether we are grateful. God, in His infinite wisdom, directs us always to give thanks. It will make the pleasant times better and the difficult times more tolerable. God is good, even when life isn’t.

This is an ideal month to practice gratitude. We will carve the turkey, slice the pie, nap and watch football later in the month, but let’s not squash our gratitude into a singular day. Our good God had blessed Christians with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), and we should never overlook that. Let’s watch for reasons, and give thanks every day this month. Wouldn’t the Lord be pleased if it became a habit.

Call to praise: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5

His word on it: 1 Thessalonians 3:7

Sermon: “How is Your Faith?”