Imagination is part of the prayer Wish To Realizing (Part 6)5. Thankful for what we have
In the American tradition, every Thursday fourth week of November they held a Thanksgiving Day. If in Manado Minahasa or known as the "Pronunciation" or Thanksgiving Day. In both traditions there is similarity that is thankful that celebrated with worship and not forgetting the eat-eat:).
Grateful indeed not only on Thanksgiving or Pronunciation moment, like my friend said, "Every day should be a moment of thanksgiving." We are grateful not because of the special food served or presented special menus such as turkey, tinoransak or winiyo'o. Grateful also not the only positive thing as taught by the motivator but should be grateful lifestyle (lifestyle) the believers.
We have various motivations, ways of expressing gratitude or expression. I will review here are five levels in gratitude.
First, thanks to compare yourself with others. Compare the expression of gratitude a Pharisee, "God, I thank thee, that I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector vinegar; I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of my income. " (Lk 18:11-12). Is this the gratitude or arrogance?
There was a pastor who never prayed like this: "Lord, we are very grateful, if in the midst of our nation and world conditions that were hit by various natural disasters, we still have a place to live, shelter, and building this church for worship. We thankful that you provide us food everyday in the midst of much hunger in this country. We praise thee for thy lovingkindness to us and we are very grateful, Lord. " (Http://andreaspilipus.blogspot.com/2010/01/egoisme-berkedok-ucapan-syukur.html).
From the two examples above thanksgiving, the question is whether our gratitude that can only be born by comparing ourselves with people who are less fortunate than us? Do we praise only comes after watching people who do not have anything AAPA, people and less complete lack of new limbs make us thankful? Is our gratitude appears only when we feel better than others? Thanksgiving this type clearly inadequate and even lead to arrogance.
Second, be grateful because we are moving from side to side in a positive negative. From the dark side of the problem or suffering then get liberation or deliverance. Like the story of lepers who were thankful to God. At first she had no hope and his condition is very alarming. Encounter with Jesus finally made her healing. The response was that he came directly to the Lord Jesus to give thanks. Only, and is ironically: of the ten people healed by God, only one returned to give thanks.
Gratitude is often times we do when we experience God's answer to the problem of heavy, pain or disease that come plagued. Recovery and healing we are experiencing encouraging and moves us to give thanks to God. But after the situation returned to normal, after everything was back to normal then it started to forget gratitude. We begin to forget to give thanks. Is gratitude only appears if there is anything extraordinary? Are you thankful only when we experience things that are sensational? When things become normal again, Could we remain grateful for?
Third, give thanks in a positive side. Here we give thanks for blessings and abundance of God's real good physical and spiritual. For example we have the providence of God in our lives, good health without any make us any less grateful. Fluency in business, our house was not affected by flooding to make us grateful. As we experience God's protection on the way, we are grateful. So we prayed gratitude is due to good and positive things that we receive each day.
Give thanks in this level is to see good things and the fun that we enjoy in life. Seeing the things that bring joy, blessing and prosperity and abundance in life. However, whether this is the true essence of gratitude? What is grateful only to the things right? God wants us to step in at a higher level again.
Fourth, we give thanks in all things. Give thanks in all circumstances. This higher level of gratitude and in and very difficult. Thanksgiving is seen in the expression of Habakkuk, "Though the fig tree is not flowering, the vine does not bear fruit, but I'll cheer cheer in the God who saved me". This is the gratitude that goes beyond the good things, positive and comfortable in life. This is the expression those able to enter the gate of God with gratitude in spite of an issue continues to haunt, difficulties continue to squeeze and endless suffering of whack, he is still able to be grateful.
Matthew Henry, a preacher from Britain had expressed gratitude after a robbery road. He said, "I am grateful that I have never been robbed before, and although he took my wallet, he did not kill me, although he took everything, it's not too much, and finally robbed of my profit instead of robbing me." He may be said also, "Thank you for this trouble!".
Give thanks in all things is not easy. When Paul says in 1 Tim 5:18, "Give thanks in all things," Paul knows what this means. He is one of the apostles who experienced many unpleasant experiences: in jail, having sunk the ship, stoned, whipped and forth many times and in such difficult mkeadaan Paul still remain grateful. Give thanks in all things seem difficult but not impossible. Be thankful in all things because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Fifth, thanks for remembering who God is and what God has done for us. In other words, thanks but not because of his gift to the giver, not because of his blessing but thanks to the Source of Blessing itself. Clear example is Hannah. Hannah prayed earnestly to God to beg and finally God answered prayers and bestows a child Hannah. Hana response is very beautiful. Hannah in prayer gratitude is not focusing on the new baby has. He could have prayed, "Lord thank you and I thank you already gave the child a cute, plump and healthy. Thank you for this child, this is a gift terindah.dalam my life." Conversely Hana in gratitude focus on God and on God's goodness and power.
In his prayer he says in 1 Samuel 1:1-2 "" My heart is glad in the LORD, the horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth flout my enemies, because I rejoice because of your help.
Nothing is holy like the LORD, because no one else except you and there is no rock like our God. "
In prayer selanjutanya, hana endlessly grateful for the power and greatness of God: "Lord turn off and turn, he lowered into the grave and raised from sana.TUHAN makes poor and makes rich, He humbled, and exalted as well. He straightened a despicable person of the dust, and lift the poor from the mud, to put him together with the nobles, and made him have a seat of honor. For the LORD has a base of the earth, and on it he put the mainland. (Verses 6-8).
NIV illustrates that the main focus of prayer of thanks Hana is not the baby but to God who had answered his prayer. Interesting, is not it? Prayer of gratitude actually born from his heart that loves God and that God put the central sebgai thanksgiving. What about us? God will hear and answer our prayers, but whether he will find us to love Him more than giving that we receive through our prayers?
Gratitude will be meaningful if based on a heart that remembers who God is and what he has done for us. Gratitude will be meaningful if we are also aware of who we are, who really did not deserve God's grace. Awareness of this will make our hearts overflow with gratitude to God.
What about the level of our gratitude for this? Is it still in the lowest level? Grateful but not really thankful? Grateful just because only a good thing? Grateful just because getting the answers we want? Let us step into a higher level: Give thanks in all circumstances and give thanks because we remember who God is and what God has done for us.
Try to set aside a moment to give thanks for the good things in your life. Think about what you have achieved, the people who pay attention to you. experience that you have obtained, expertise and interests you have, what you believe in, and most beautiful things in your life.
The things that you cherish, maintain, and keep, will continue to rise in your life. Abundance begins with gratitude With heartfelt gratitude, you appreciate what you have, which in turn will push you mentally, spiritually, and physically, to achieve whatever your goal.
How can you get things bigger, if you are not grateful for what you have today? Yet all of them, can only begin with what you already have it.
You know. that you can achieve the goal, because you never initiated anything like that. Experience is yours to be thankful for?.
Who says there is nothing to be thankful? Everything is within your reach when you are grateful for what you have obtained."Greetings from the Heart to heart From Andra Virdianto"
Grateful indeed not only on Thanksgiving or Pronunciation moment, like my friend said, "Every day should be a moment of thanksgiving." We are grateful not because of the special food served or presented special menus such as turkey, tinoransak or winiyo'o. Grateful also not the only positive thing as taught by the motivator but should be grateful lifestyle (lifestyle) the believers.
We have various motivations, ways of expressing gratitude or expression. I will review here are five levels in gratitude.
First, thanks to compare yourself with others. Compare the expression of gratitude a Pharisee, "God, I thank thee, that I am not like other men, robbers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector vinegar; I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of my income. " (Lk 18:11-12). Is this the gratitude or arrogance?
There was a pastor who never prayed like this: "Lord, we are very grateful, if in the midst of our nation and world conditions that were hit by various natural disasters, we still have a place to live, shelter, and building this church for worship. We thankful that you provide us food everyday in the midst of much hunger in this country. We praise thee for thy lovingkindness to us and we are very grateful, Lord. " (Http://andreaspilipus.blogspot.com/2010/01/egoisme-berkedok-ucapan-syukur.html).
From the two examples above thanksgiving, the question is whether our gratitude that can only be born by comparing ourselves with people who are less fortunate than us? Do we praise only comes after watching people who do not have anything AAPA, people and less complete lack of new limbs make us thankful? Is our gratitude appears only when we feel better than others? Thanksgiving this type clearly inadequate and even lead to arrogance.
Second, be grateful because we are moving from side to side in a positive negative. From the dark side of the problem or suffering then get liberation or deliverance. Like the story of lepers who were thankful to God. At first she had no hope and his condition is very alarming. Encounter with Jesus finally made her healing. The response was that he came directly to the Lord Jesus to give thanks. Only, and is ironically: of the ten people healed by God, only one returned to give thanks.
Gratitude is often times we do when we experience God's answer to the problem of heavy, pain or disease that come plagued. Recovery and healing we are experiencing encouraging and moves us to give thanks to God. But after the situation returned to normal, after everything was back to normal then it started to forget gratitude. We begin to forget to give thanks. Is gratitude only appears if there is anything extraordinary? Are you thankful only when we experience things that are sensational? When things become normal again, Could we remain grateful for?
Third, give thanks in a positive side. Here we give thanks for blessings and abundance of God's real good physical and spiritual. For example we have the providence of God in our lives, good health without any make us any less grateful. Fluency in business, our house was not affected by flooding to make us grateful. As we experience God's protection on the way, we are grateful. So we prayed gratitude is due to good and positive things that we receive each day.
Give thanks in this level is to see good things and the fun that we enjoy in life. Seeing the things that bring joy, blessing and prosperity and abundance in life. However, whether this is the true essence of gratitude? What is grateful only to the things right? God wants us to step in at a higher level again.
Fourth, we give thanks in all things. Give thanks in all circumstances. This higher level of gratitude and in and very difficult. Thanksgiving is seen in the expression of Habakkuk, "Though the fig tree is not flowering, the vine does not bear fruit, but I'll cheer cheer in the God who saved me". This is the gratitude that goes beyond the good things, positive and comfortable in life. This is the expression those able to enter the gate of God with gratitude in spite of an issue continues to haunt, difficulties continue to squeeze and endless suffering of whack, he is still able to be grateful.
Matthew Henry, a preacher from Britain had expressed gratitude after a robbery road. He said, "I am grateful that I have never been robbed before, and although he took my wallet, he did not kill me, although he took everything, it's not too much, and finally robbed of my profit instead of robbing me." He may be said also, "Thank you for this trouble!".
Give thanks in all things is not easy. When Paul says in 1 Tim 5:18, "Give thanks in all things," Paul knows what this means. He is one of the apostles who experienced many unpleasant experiences: in jail, having sunk the ship, stoned, whipped and forth many times and in such difficult mkeadaan Paul still remain grateful. Give thanks in all things seem difficult but not impossible. Be thankful in all things because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Fifth, thanks for remembering who God is and what God has done for us. In other words, thanks but not because of his gift to the giver, not because of his blessing but thanks to the Source of Blessing itself. Clear example is Hannah. Hannah prayed earnestly to God to beg and finally God answered prayers and bestows a child Hannah. Hana response is very beautiful. Hannah in prayer gratitude is not focusing on the new baby has. He could have prayed, "Lord thank you and I thank you already gave the child a cute, plump and healthy. Thank you for this child, this is a gift terindah.dalam my life." Conversely Hana in gratitude focus on God and on God's goodness and power.
In his prayer he says in 1 Samuel 1:1-2 "" My heart is glad in the LORD, the horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth flout my enemies, because I rejoice because of your help.
Nothing is holy like the LORD, because no one else except you and there is no rock like our God. "
In prayer selanjutanya, hana endlessly grateful for the power and greatness of God: "Lord turn off and turn, he lowered into the grave and raised from sana.TUHAN makes poor and makes rich, He humbled, and exalted as well. He straightened a despicable person of the dust, and lift the poor from the mud, to put him together with the nobles, and made him have a seat of honor. For the LORD has a base of the earth, and on it he put the mainland. (Verses 6-8).
NIV illustrates that the main focus of prayer of thanks Hana is not the baby but to God who had answered his prayer. Interesting, is not it? Prayer of gratitude actually born from his heart that loves God and that God put the central sebgai thanksgiving. What about us? God will hear and answer our prayers, but whether he will find us to love Him more than giving that we receive through our prayers?
Gratitude will be meaningful if based on a heart that remembers who God is and what he has done for us. Gratitude will be meaningful if we are also aware of who we are, who really did not deserve God's grace. Awareness of this will make our hearts overflow with gratitude to God.
What about the level of our gratitude for this? Is it still in the lowest level? Grateful but not really thankful? Grateful just because only a good thing? Grateful just because getting the answers we want? Let us step into a higher level: Give thanks in all circumstances and give thanks because we remember who God is and what God has done for us.
Try to set aside a moment to give thanks for the good things in your life. Think about what you have achieved, the people who pay attention to you. experience that you have obtained, expertise and interests you have, what you believe in, and most beautiful things in your life.
The things that you cherish, maintain, and keep, will continue to rise in your life. Abundance begins with gratitude With heartfelt gratitude, you appreciate what you have, which in turn will push you mentally, spiritually, and physically, to achieve whatever your goal.
How can you get things bigger, if you are not grateful for what you have today? Yet all of them, can only begin with what you already have it.
You know. that you can achieve the goal, because you never initiated anything like that. Experience is yours to be thankful for?.
Who says there is nothing to be thankful? Everything is within your reach when you are grateful for what you have obtained."Greetings from the Heart to heart From Andra Virdianto"
