I learned this week three of the most important words known to mankind, the most important words in all of creation. Not \u201cI got a raise,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m on vacation,\u201d or even \u201cI won Lotto!\u201d All of these are great, and I wouldn\u2019t mind any or all of them! So what are my three most important words? \u201cLord, I\u2019m grateful!\u201d Notice, I didn\u2019t say \u201cthankful.\u201d I specifically said, \u201cLord, I\u2019m grateful!\u201d There is a huge difference between thankful and grateful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psalm 50:14 says, \u201cBring me your true and sincere thanks, and show your gratitude by keeping your promises to me, the Most High.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How important does Jesus regard gratitude? Luke 17:15-19 is a perfect example. \u201cOne 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, \u2018You are the Messiah.\u2019 \u2018So where are the other nine?\u2019 Jesus asked. \u2018Weren\u2019t there ten who were healed?They all refused to return to give thanks and give glory to God except you, a foreigner from Samaria?\u2019 Then Jesus said to the healed man lying at his feet, \u2018Arise and go. It was your faith that brought you salvation and made you whole.\u2019 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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dayenu is a Hebrew song and prayer that expresses gratitude for God\u2019s kindness. The word translates into English as \u201cIt would have been enough for us.\u201d 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\u2019s people even if He didn\u2019t do another thing for them. As I was writing this, I felt the desire to write my own Dayenu, \u201cLord, 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!\u201d And then I had to add, \u201cBut Lord, You didn\u2019t stop there. You did so much more!\u201d My eyes filled with tears as I worshipped Him right then. It\u2019s 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, \u201cAll 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 \u2018cause all that I have is a hallelujah!\u201d I don\u2019t know about you, but my hands are raised to Him just writing this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tears again filled my eyes and gratitude filled my heart as I read Hebrews 12:2. \u201cWe 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\u2019s 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.\u201d 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Emil Liko 9\/4\/26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I learned this week three of the most important words known to mankind, the most important words in all of creation. Not \u201cI got a raise,\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m on vacation,\u201d or even \u201cI won Lotto!\u201d All of these are great, and I wouldn\u2019t mind any or all of them! So what are my three most important words? \u201cLord, I\u2019m grateful!\u201d Notice, I didn\u2019t say \u201cthankful.\u201d I specifically said, \u201cLord, I\u2019m grateful!\u201d There is a huge difference between thankful and grateful! … Continue reading The Most Powerful Words Ever Spoken<\/span>