There are about 400 passages mentioning gratitude and thanksgiving. Here are some of the benefits of gratitude:
Gratitude defeats toxic emotions
Gratitude reduces pain
Gratitude improves physical and mental health
Gratitude improves sleep quality
Gratitude aids in stress regulation
Gratitude reduces anxiety and depression
Gratitude improves relationships and opens the door to people and opportunities
Gratitude IS THE EVIDENCE OF MATURITY
Gratitude pleases God and brings His blessing
In 2022 we are called to Adopt an attitude of gratitude
Col 2:6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
Col 2:7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. NKJV
Col 3:17 Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father. GNB
If you want your life to change you first need to change your mind because your life goes in the direction of your strongest thoughts.
The Good News is that you can change. According to Gods word and according to the science around neural plasticity we know that it is possible to change. You can have a renewed MIND it’s not too late. Only as you create new pathways can you expect to see new results.
*Who you have been, is not a great indicator of who you can become. *
1. GRATITUDE for the promise of a sound
.
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. —NKJV
If we are going to become renewed or arrive at the destination God has called us to, we are going to need a sound mind.
2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy.
2Co 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, —ESV
Strongholds
- A stronghold is something that has a strong hold on you.
- is a mindset that accepts a situation as unchangable even though we know it’s against Gods
- is a mindset that accepts a situation as unchangable even though we know it’s against Gods__ word__.
Mat 12:29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. —NKJV
Jesus tied up the strong man so that STRONG MEN and WOMEN could go free!
What if the thoughts that have set the direction of your life were not your own but instead a deception of half truth meant to destroy you. A lie from the enemy. How would you live differently.
Any area we are unable to receive the truth is evidence of a stronghold. Eg: forgiveness path to healing. If you say I’m not ready to hear this and you put up a wall it’s evidence of the enemy stealing from you and binding you up in a stronghold.
You don’t have to let your mind be held hostage by the enemy anymore.
It is a part of the gift of salvation and we receive it as a gift.
Repentance
Is not remorse
It’s not a feeling. Feeling Guilty is not the core of repentance.
Confession is not repentance
You might confess after you get caught.
Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow of sin and the forsaking of that sin and a commitment to following Jesus and putting our trust in Him.
Accept the responsibility stop playing the blame game.
2. A Negativity
requires a Gratitude
Rom 1:19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.
Rom 1:20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Rom 1:21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
Rom 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. —NLT
Entry to a dark place
- Gratitude and Negativity can not co-exist.
- It’s alright to tell people what is going on or how you feel but it should be short and followed by “but God”
- The natural human flesh will always drift toward the negative. We don’t even have to try.
- Complaining is not done in faith, it is totally missing the target.
- The answer to complaining and murmuring is repentance
- When you increase thanksgiving and decrease complaints.
Num 21:4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.
Num 21:5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
Num 21:6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
Num 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Num 21:8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
Num 21:9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. —NKJV
3. Gratitude is the
to wholeness.
- Gratitude and Self Loathing can not co-exist.
- Gratitude and Body Image Issues.
- Gratitude is more than platitudes
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
Luk 17:11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
Luk 17:12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
Luk 17:13 And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
Luk 17:14 So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
Luk 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
Luk 17:16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
Luk 17:17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
Luk 17:18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
Luk 17:19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” —NKJV
(hath made thee whole. G4982 G4571 )KJV#
From a primary word σῶς sōs̄ (contraction for the obsolete σάος saos, “safe”); to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): - heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.
Luke 17:16
- worship is expressing our hearts to God
- Gratitude produces worship (loud voice, fall down on his face)
- Thankful that pain is never permanent (PAIN DOES NOT FOLLOW THE BELIEVER INTO ETERNITY)
4. GRATITUDE AND THE RE-WIRED
Anxiety is our body’s inbuilt wake-up call that alerts us against danger. When fear sets in, our body releases hormones that create the fight or flight responses, and we react likewise. The brain doesn’t get much time to analyze the right or wrong when the adrenaline rush begins. The worst upshot of anxiety is that it makes us feel insecure, and we start questioning our inner strengths. Eventually, coping mechanisms start failing.
In the book ‘Grateful Brain,’ author Alex Korb (2012) said that our brain is conditioned to function in a repeated way. For example, a person who worries too much about the adverse outcomes will subconsciously re-wire his brain to process negative information only. Korb has mentioned that our mind cannot focus on positive and negative information at the same time.
By consciously practicing gratitude, we can train the brain to attend selectively to positive emotions and thoughts, thus reducing anxiety and feelings of apprehension. —.
- Gratitude and anxiety can not co-exist.
- Analysis Paralysis / Procrastination and Gratitude
Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Php 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —NKJV
- Healing is a process and God’s pace is peace
Lam 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
Lam 3:22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
Lam 3:23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lam 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lam 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Lam 3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. —ESVRom 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. —NLT
Rom 12:2 Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. —TPT
The God who made your mind has made a plan to set you free.
- Micro repentance and the rewired brain.
Testing of Your Faith
Jas 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
Jas 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Jas 1:4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Jas 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Jas 1:8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. —NIV
- Warrior Mindset vs a Civilian Mindset
- The prophet Joel said let the weak say I am strong.
- The prophet Joel said let the weak say I am strong.
- What you see should not impact what you say.
- Psalm I believe therefore I have spoken
Joe 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
Joe 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”
Joe 3:11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, LORD!
Joe 3:12 “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.
Joe 3:13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”
Joe 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. —NIV2Ti 2:3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. —NLT
- A concerned mindset is built on fear
- A cautious mindset is built on facts
- A confident mindset is built on faith