I learned this week three of the most important words known to mankind, the most important words in all of creation. Not “I got a raise,” or “I’m on vacation,” or even “I won Lotto!” All of these are great, and I wouldn’t mind any or all of them! So what are my three most important words? “Lord, I’m grateful!” Notice, I didn’t say “thankful.” I specifically said, “Lord, I’m grateful!” There is a huge difference between thankful and grateful!
Psalm 50:14 says, “Bring me your true and sincere thanks, and show your gratitude by keeping your promises to me, the Most High.” Gratitude is the attitude that moves the heart and the hand of God! You can be thankful without being grateful. Thankfulness is a quick, polite response to a specific action or moment. Saying “thank you” when someone holds a door open is not a deep emotion. It ends as soon as the moment passes. Butgratitude is a deeper, longer-lasting feeling. It impacts your heart so much that it stays with you for a very long time.
How important does Jesus regard gratitude? Luke 17:15-19 is a perfect example. “One of them, a Samaritan, when he discovered that he was completely healed, turned back to find Jesus, shouting out joyous praises and glorifying God. When he found Jesus, he fell down at his feet and thanked him over and over, saying to Him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ ‘So where are the other nine?’ Jesus asked. ‘Weren’t there ten who were healed?They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?’ Then Jesus said to the healed man lying at his feet, ‘Arise and go. It was your faith that brought you salvation and made you whole.’ Did you catch that? Ten lepers got healed but the only one who was saved was the one who returned to Jesus to express his heartfelt gratitude!
The Dayenu is a Hebrew song and prayer that expresses gratitude for God’s kindness. The word translates into English as “It would have been enough for us.” The Dayenu is traditionallysung during the Jewish Passover feast as they remember their escape from Egypt. It names 14 specific miracles; each one alone would have been more than enough to satisfy God’s people even if He didn’t do another thing for them. As I was writing this, I felt the desire to write my own Dayenu, “Lord, if You allowed me to be saved by asking You into my heart and forgiving my sins of the past and writing my name in Your Book of Life and then never did another thing for me, that would have been enough!” And then I had to add, “But Lord, You didn’t stop there. You did so much more!” My eyes filled with tears as I worshipped Him right then. It’s like singing along to a Christian song on the radio. You can feel good but never enter into worship. But when you sing out of the gratitude of your heart for who the Lord is and all He has done, now your heart reaches out to the Lord and you enter into worship! In my favorite song, Gratitude by Brandon Lake, he sings, “All my words fall short, I got nothing new, how could I express all my gratitude?….So I throw up my hands and praise You again and again ‘cause all that I have is a hallelujah!” I don’t know about you, but my hands are raised to Him just writing this!
Tears again filled my eyes and gratitude filled my heart as I read Hebrews 12:2. “We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God.” My hands are again raised in gratitude! Jesus willingly endured the excruciating pain of the cross with joy, knowing you would be His, just for the asking! And for that I am forever grateful! How about you?
-Emil Liko 9/4/26