Living In Gratitude To God

Living in gratitude to God. How are we to live in gratitude and joy in our life of faith? We know that we are to be grateful and live in joy, but rather than doing so we get discouraged, complain and argue. True gratitude is not based upon circumstance. There are many situations that arise in life in trials, difficulties and struggles. We may be lacking finances and go hungry. We may get into accidents. We may suffer heartache. We may suffer a terrible disease that may overtake us. However, in the midst of it all, when I stay in Christ and Christ is in me, there is gratitude and joy and this is victory. There are certain events that we are being exposed to. No matter what event or circumstance happens to you are you able to be victorious? You are experiencing this in your lives right now. Though you are blessed but do not know how to be joyful and give thanks, then you will feel like you are in hell. You will be depressed, lonely and sad. You end up comparing your life to others and fall into the trap of thinking that you are less than others. You cannot be grateful when you live like this. To be joyful in the Lord means to be one with Him. Children are most content and happy when they are with their parents. Though war breaks out and there is no food to eat just being with their parents they do not really know hardship. They may cry because they are hungry. They do not know the reason for why they have no food. They do not know why war happens. We too, when we are with the Lord, even though the world collapses and we suffer many natural disasters, and even though unemployment is high, what is important is the heart I have towards God. Even in the face of recent events I am filled with joy and gratitude. There are many things that are happening that we are not prepared for. Watching the events unfold it is easy to see that without God all these things could not be unfolding the way they are. Unless you realize that it is God in control, you will fall into the trap of thinking that it was a coincidence, a random event, or something that you caused which is a viewpoint absent of God and where you are the focus. In this manner, then when things go your way or you get things that you want you are happy and then the next day because you desire more you will be without joy. There will never be anything that completely satisfies you. When we are in God, even when we suffer hardships we can be grateful and be filled with joy. When good things happen we can be even more grateful and be filled with even more joy. We will be able to endure any event or circumstance. We cannot live this life of gratitude and joy without first being in union with God. When I am sad, though my neighbor is happy, I begin to question and blame the other person for my sadness. When we are sad, we should let down our sadness and share in the joy of the one who is happy. When there is someone who is sad we can share in their sadness and therefore find joy together. If we only think about ourselves and our emotions then we are not keeping the command of loving our neighbors. To live in union with God means that our lives must be centered around God. It is the life that actively seeks God and His will. From a worldly view the life centered around God may seem common. But it is in this common person’s life that God is present. It is a special and precious life. Why? It is because the ultimate purpose of one’s life is to dwell with God. The first commandment is to have not other gods other than God. This means that we can have nothing and no one above us other than God. God desires that we are one with Him. We are to have no other gods and serve no idols. In the past we thought that having other gods meant believing in buddha or some other deity, but today we know that anything that we enjoy more than God is an idol. We can live in joy with God as long as there is nothing that we desire more than God Himself. But many of us say that we are one with God but hold onto to many idols. We bags and bags of idols. The things we enjoy, desire, and things we covet. We build rooms for these things in our hearts and continue to fill these rooms with the desires of them. You cannot find true joy and gratitude with God when these things are in your heart. If you truly desire to live in joy and gratitude, then no matter what circumstance or situation you may encounter, you are to know that you are living under God’s grace. After I received the call late last night, I was grateful. I was grateful that the situation was not any worse, that no one was shot, and that nothing more serious happened. I was grateful for the way the events turned out. Do not misunderstand and think that I am enjoying your suffering or take pleasure in it, I am just grateful that things were not any worse. I also believe that the person that experienced the event was able to handle the crisis and that is why it happened to them. I was filled with joy and slept well. I know that it was God who was with you all. I am grateful and therefore am able to move forward. I tried calling but was told that the phones were taken as well. I normally do not call you anyhow, or have reason to. I show concern for you when I take time to pray for you. This is not only my work but this is how I love and protect you. A phone call is not what is important and this is why I do not call much. After I was told of the incident I actually laughed. I am sorry but I really did laugh. The reason is even though something did happen it was resolved well. I saw that the faith of our church has grown. When I see how you acted in the situation I am grateful. Had someone been shot would we still be able to laugh? Even if someone were to get shot, we should be grateful. We do not know how God’s grace will unfold in our lives. We cannot only look at our circumstance as we live our lives. I told my husband that this was a good thing that happened. It was a reason to sing hallelujah. God is most pleased when we live our lives in Him. Even tonight, someone got into a car accident on the way here to church. Though they were involved in the accident, God protected them and spared there lives and there was no serious injury. We are grateful to the God who has granted us this protection. I believe that God sent His angels and protected them. What is it that you are grateful for? God desires that we walk with Him. We do not know what lies ahead. God just asks that we take one step at a time with Him. Neither I nor the pastor are sure of exactly where we are going, but we go forth trusting Him. Obedience is the best. If God tells us to take one step forward today, then that is all you need to do. But our problem is, we look towards the future and ask God how is He going to use someone like us for His work? If He revealed that to you, you may end up being proud and will be of no use for God. You will not understand how He will use you. Before service, I prayed for you but I do not know why that was the prayer. But I am sure that we have taken the step to the next level. You have now pushed off from one foot and have started to take a new step. If you miss this opportunity, then we will have to walk aimlessly around the desert as did the Israelites. We are not to walk around in the desert anymore, but we are called to enter the promised land and start a new work. I am asking that you will participate in this new endeavor together. Sermon by Pastor Joy Y.S. Lee Translation by Miguel Park .