West Side Church of Christ, Searcy, Arkansas
Be Thankful In Every Circumstance
Steve W. Reeves, November 23, 2014
INTRODUCTION:
A. A second grade boy was getting off of the school bus one morning when he fell and
cut his head on the sidewalk. He received three stitches after which his mother
took him to school. On the playground he was running and bumped into a couple of
boys causing him to bite his lip. Later that afternoon after school he fell and broke his
arm. After having the arm set and put in a cast he was sitting in the back seat of the
car holding something shiny in his hand. “What do you have,” asked his mother? He
replied, “A quarter I found on the parking lot. This must be my lucky day!”
B. Being thankful is a matter of attitude.
1. Some people go through life surrounded by blessings and yet all they do is
grumble.
2. Others endure difficult circumstances and still manage to have a grateful heart.
3. What type of attitude do you have? An attitude of grumbling or an attitude of
gratitude?
I. A LESSON FROM ANCIENT ISRAEL
A. Numbers 11:1 says “Now the people complained about their hardships in the
hearing of the Lord.” You would have thought they would have been so thankful to
have escaped the enslavement of Egypt but from the time they left that land they
grumbled.
1. Exodus 14:11- “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought
us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”
2. Exodus 15:23-24 - When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water
because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) 24 So the people
grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
3. Exodus 16:2-3 - In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and
Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in
Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you
have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
4. Exodus 17:3 - But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled
against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and
our children and livestock die of thirst?”
5. Numbers 13 – at the edge of Canaan ready to receive the promised land. After
the 12 spies returned ten brought a negative assessment of the situation.
a. Isn’t it amazing to observe the difference between the attitude of the people
and that of Joshua and Caleb?
b. “It is not so much what life brings to us in her hands but what we bring to life in
our spirit that makes the difference.” - Henry Emerson Fosdick
6. Numbers 14:1-2 - That night all the members of the community raised their
voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron,
and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this
wilderness.
7. Numbers 14:28-29 - So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do
to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—
every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and
who has grumbled against me.
8. Deuteronomy 1:7 – “You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so
he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy
us.”
9. Ps. 106::25 – “They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord.”
B. Israel’s grumbling was so great that Paul warned Christians in Corinth about the
dangers of grumbling. In 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 – “Now these things occurred as
examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be
idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and
drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality,
as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We
should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do
not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.”
C. It’s not always easy to be grateful.
1. A little boy went to a birthday party. His mother asked him, “Son, did you thank
the host mother for the party?” The boy answered, “Well, I was going to, but the
girl ahead of me said, ‘Thank You,’ and the lady told her, ‘Don’t mention it.’ So I
didn’t.”
2. Gratitude is a deliberate choice we must make. It’s easy to be a grumbler – to
allow yourself to complain and gripe about all of the imperfections you see
around you. Gratitude is a choice you make to focus on the positive rather than
the negative.
II. BE THANKFUL IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
A. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians he said in 1 Thess. 5:16-18 - “Rejoice
always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.”
1. Look at the emphasis, “This is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” If it is God’s will
for us than it certainly is something that can be done.
2. Paul certainly knew something about giving thanks in all circumstances.
3. Acts 16:25 – when imprisoned in Philippi he and Silas was singing and praying
instead of sulking and pitying.
4. He described the difficulties he faced in 2 Cor. 11:23-28 –
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more
severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received
from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods,
once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and
a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in
danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in
danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at
sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have
often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone
without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily
the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
4. Was Paul grumbling? Not at all. On the contrary he says in Philippians 4:11-13 –
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to
be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
B. Too often we become discouraged and grumble instead of showing gratitude.
A man and his wife had six children. His job was slow and he was not making much
money. The children needed new shoes. At the same time their washing machine
quit working. The man saw an ad for a used washing machine and went to buy it
from a young couple who lived in a nice house. After agreeing to the price the man
began to grumble about his children and how they were always costing him money
and how he was never able to get ahead. He said, “if I didn’t have all of these kids
maybe I could finally get ahead.” Suddenly the young lady burst into tears and she
left the room. Her husband explained. “I’m sorry. We’ve just been told we cannot
have children.”
C. Gratitude helps us maintain the proper perspective in life.
1. “I Am Thankful For”
I’m thankful for the taxes I pay…because it means I have a job.
I’m thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug…because it means I have
enough to eat.
I’m thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and
gutters than need fixing…because it means I have a home to live in.
I’m thankful for the person behind me in church who sings off key…because it
means I can hear.
I’m thankful for piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones
are near.
I’m thankful for the alarm that goes off early in the morning…because it means
I’m alive. (Unknown auther).
C. Fanny Crosby was born in 1820 and lost her eyesight when she was an infant.
She lost her father when she was only a year old. When her grandmother heard of
Fanny’s blindness she said, “I will be her eyes.” She spent hours with Fanny
carefully describing the world, reading to her and kneeling beside her bed in prayer.
With her grandmother’s help Fanny memorized the first four books of the Bible, the
four Gospels, the book of Proverbs and man of the Psalms. Fanny Crosby lived to
be 95 years old. In her lifetime she wrote six thousand hymns including, “A
Wonderful Savior.” Pay close attention to this verse, “With numberless blessings
each moment he crowns, and filled with his fullness divine. I sing in my rapture, O
glory to God, for such a Redeemer as mine!”
D. Is your heart filled with grumbling or gratitude?
CONCLUSION:
A. Corrie Ten Boom was a young Dutch girl who lived during the Holocaust when
millions of Jews were executed by the Nazi’s. In her autobiography, The Hiding
Place, she told of being placed in a concentration camp. Conditions were deplorable.
The barracks were filled with fleas that constantly bit them. It was almost unbearable.
One night as the women in the barracks huddled together to recite Bible verses and
pray someone recited 1 Thess. 5:28, “Giving thanks in all circumstances.” They said,
“we should thank God for the fleas.” Corrie thought, “how could we possibly thank
God for these pests.” Someone expressed fear that the Nazi’s would come into the
barracks and find them praying. Another prisoner said, “Do not worry, they won’t
come in the barracks because of the fleas.” Corrie wrote, “I thanked God for the
fleas.”
B. All of us live in a fallen, imperfect world. We live among fallen, imperfect people in
our families, on our jobs, at school and in the church. We face difficult situations.
There are heartaches and hurts. There are things we do not like. There are people
who are harsh and insensitive. But for every difficulty there is an opportunity. For
every hardship there are numerous blessings. How do we respond? With grumbling
or gratitude?
C. “An Attitude of Gratitude” by Cheryl Yost.
It’s easy to be thankful when things are going right,
Each prayer you say is answered, your faith is our of sight.
You live in a free country, God’s the ruler of your nation.
At night you see the sky so clear – each starry constellation.
Your body’s strong and healthy, you’ve a good job to provide.
You’re filled with joy and happiness and feeling good inside.
But what about the bad days when things don’t go so well?
Are you still glad and joyful or on troubles do you dwell?
Do you praise and thank your Savior, He said in everything give thanks.
Our treasure is in heaven, it isn’t stored in banks.
Our destiny is in his hands. It doesn’t come by chance.
And Jesus said to praise Him in every circumstance.
So when a bad say comes your way pray for this attitude.
A loving, thankful joyful heart – filled with gratitude.
D. If we can help you with any spiritual need in your life we invite you to come.