Gratitude
- Kristian Rose
- Nov 23, 2008
- Series: The Good Life
The passage: Psalm 30
The Psalms are an amazing collection of Hebrew poems where the authors have given voice to a number of life experiences and feelings that virtually everyone can relate to. Here we see that: In every circumstance and in every season, the way to the good life is through gratitude.
Gratitude is something experienced, something expressed, and the purpose for our existence. Gratitude is a disposition of the heart. Giving thanks is the expression of that disposition. And the ultimate result of that expression is worship.
We see David here in verses 1-3 describing his gratitude
He says that he will extol the Lord because he has “drawn me up, healed me, rescued my life from Sheol and restored me”. The Hebrew word for “drawn up”, here expresses the image of a bucket being literally pulled up from the depths of a well. He is saying that he was literally in the throws of death; he was so sick and immersed in suffering that he was as good as dead. But he cried out to God and was healed. When someone experiences that kind of saving, they’re full of gratitude. You hear it in the stories of cancer survivors and war veterans all the time.
He wasn’t saved because he was such a good guy or even such a mighty king, but because of God’s mercy. This is what we call grace. It’s unmerited favor.
The greatest realization of gratitude is found in the presence of grace.
In fact, the extent to which the disposition of our heart is grateful is the extent to which we’ve experienced and understood grace. Our gratitude is a barometer of the grace in our lives.
It’s not until we abandon the notion of entitlement and abandon our attempts to earn our salvation, and instead trust totally in Christ’s decisive dealing with sin on the cross on our behalf, that we’ve understood and experienced grace.
But, how can I talk about gratitude when God is allowing children to die in car accidents and people to lose their homes and wars to ravage entire nations? How can we talk about gratitude in the face of disease, tragedy, and suffering?
How do we experience gratitude in the midst of those things? Here’s one way: by hoping for change. See Psalm 30:4-5, Rev 21: 3-5, Rom 8
God’s will for us in this life is not necessarily material comfort, wealth or ease. God’s will is found clearly in 1 Thes 5:16-18. Also, see Rom 8. So part of experiencing gratitude is found in trusting in God to fulfill his promises, and waiting for them patiently. Gratitude is found not just in what God has already done, but also in what he is doing and is still to do.
Experiencing gratitude isn’t enough. The right response to experiencing gratitude is expressing it. God is so great, so wonderful, so all surpassing that it demands our praise. His very existence demands praise. Jesus said that if we did not praise him, the very rocks would cry out (Lk
It’s amazing how many ways God has given us to express our gratitude to Him: painting, photography, poetry, prose, using our hands, our minds, our creative talents. See
The greatest thing in all of existence is God. The most beautiful thing imaginable is God. The most intelligent being in the entire universe is God. The most wonderful, desirable, joyous, transcendent, pleasurable, magnificent thing that is or ever was, is God. It is the most loving thing God could do to create us to experience him, enjoy him, revel in him, and exist in him. It’s not egotistical; it’s the height of all goodness.
God has created us for himself, to experience the highest joys. We are to reflect the glory of God by worshiping and enjoying him forever. Once we’ve received grace we find ourselves experiencing gratitude in our hearts. The natural expression of that gratitude is thanksgiving and praise to our God – and in worshiping him that way, with our whole lives, we find ourselves living in the very center of our created purpose. That’s why in every circumstance and in every season, the way to the good life is through gratitude.