Rick Warren's Blog, page 658

Radical Gratitude: Give Thanks in All Circumstances

"Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1
Thessalonians 5:18 NIV)

In the U.S.,
we celebrate a day of thanksgiving once a year. But God wants us to be
intentional about our thankfulness every day. He wants us to develop this
spiritual habit, one that is reflected in the life of a radical believer. The truth
is, the more deeply you understand God's love, the more grateful you're going
to be.

So what does
it mean to be radically grateful?

The Bible
says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Give
thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (NIV).
That's radical gratitude. In all
circumstances give thanks, because it's God's will for you.

You can thank
God in every circumstance because God is in control. He can bring good out of
evil. He can turn around the stupid mistakes you've made. No matter what
happens, God isn't going to stop loving you. There are a hundred things to be
thankful for in any circumstance, even when the circumstance stinks.

Radical
gratitude - being thankful in all circumstances - is God's will because it
creates fellowship.

What do I
mean by that? Gratitude always builds deeper relationships between you and
other people and between you and God.

Whoever you
want to get closer to, start expressing gratitude to that person. If you've
moved away from your husband or your wife, you need to start doing what you did
when you were dating: Express gratitude. Write little notes of kindness and
encouragement. Make calls or text during the day, just to tell him or her that
you're thankful. Do the things you did at first. The reason you've lost that
lovin' feeling is because you stopped doing the things that created that lovin'
feeling early on, and you take each other for granted.

Do you want
to build your small group? Don't just go to small group. During the week, text
them, email them, call them, write them. Say, "I'm grateful for you, and here's
why." You'll find that the more grateful you are for your group, the more your
group will bond.

The Bible
tells us to "encourage one another and
build each other up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11). As you build others up, you'll
find that God builds into your life as well through your deep relationships
with him and others.

Talk It Over

Who do you
need to encourage or connect with this week? To whom do you need to show your
gratitude?What are some
simple ways you can express your gratitude to your spouse, friend, or small
group members?

�

As you develop an attitude of gratitude, what changes do you think you
will see in yourself and your relationships?

Empty Hands Receive Greater Blessings

"You will be enriched in
every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your
generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." (2
Corinthians 9:11 NIV)

The Bible
says in 2 Corinthians 9:11, "You will be
enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (NIV).

What an
amazing verse! God makes you rich in every way so you can be generous on every
occasion, which will result in thanksgiving to God.

God doesn't
bless you so you can be greedy; he blesses you so you can be generous. You give
away, and God gives back to you so you can give more away and he can give more
back to you and on and on and on. God doesn't give you things so you can pile
them up. When you let go of what's in your hand, it's now empty to receive
greater blessings from God.

But as I've
said before, God's giving to you is based on your attitude. That's why it's so
important to live with an attitude of gratitude. The Bible says, "This service that you perform is not only
supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many
expressions of thanks to God" (2 Corinthians 9:12).

When you give,
you are performing a service. To serve and to give is the same thing. It's two
actions of love. You can't love without serving and giving. And the best part
is this: Your service leads to expressions of thanksgiving to God.

Take a moment
to pray and express your gratitude to God.

Talk It Over

What does it
mean to develop an attitude of gratitude?How does your
giving reflect God's generosity toward you?What is your
motivation to serve and give? Does your service lead to an expression of thanks
to God?

Cultivate a Life in Common

"You must get along with
each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another, cultivating a life
in common." (1 Corinthians 1:10 MSG)

One skill
that doesn't seem to be taught in school anymore is how to work well with
others. But it's one of the most important skills to learn if you're going to
be a happy person.

If you don't
work well with other people, you're going to be unhappy much of your life.

What do you
need to learn in order to work with other people?

First, you must learn to cooperate
with others.

Epaphroditus
was a man that the church in Philippi sent to Rome with a gift of financial
support for Paul while he was in prison. Philippians 2:25 says, "I feel that I must send Epaphroditus - my
brother, coworker, and fellow soldier - back to you. You sent him as your
personal representative to help me in my need" (GWT).

By calling
Epaphroditus his brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, Paul was saying that
life and ministry is a family, it's a fellowship, and it's a fight.

The church is
the family of God. We are brothers and sisters with the people we minister and
worship with, and we should treat them as such. It's also a fellowship, where
we work and serve together with a common goal - the Great Commission.

You're also
in the same fight together against Satan, and you need to support each other.
You need to defend and encourage each other.

The best
place to learn how to cooperate with others is in the church.

Second, you need to learn to be
considerate.

Paul is
speaking of Epaphroditus again in Philippians 2:26 when he says, "He has been longing to see all of you and
is troubled because you heard that he was sick."

Notice there
are two examples of consideration. Paul is considerate of his co-worker's
homesickness, and Epaphroditus is considerate about the Philippians' concern.

This is a key
to happiness! The more considerate you learn to be of other people's needs,
doubts, and fears, the happier you will be. If you are inconsiderate you're
going to have an unhappy marriage.

The Bible
says in 1 Corinthians 1:10, "You must get
along with each other. You must learn to be considerate of one another,
cultivating a life in common" (MSG).

None of us is
by nature a considerate person, because we tend to think of ourselves first and
not the needs of others. "Cultivating a life in common" takes work, and
learning to get along and work well with others takes practice. Like a garden
that requires cultivation to bear fruit, you'll see how your effort bears the
fruit of happiness and strong relationships.

Talk It Over

Why is it
sometimes hardest to get along or work well with people who are a part of the
church and with whom you minister?What new
practices can you adopt to cultivate cooperation and consideration among your
ministry group or coworkers?

Happiness Comes from Being Trusted

"Reliable friends who do what
they say are like cool drinks in sweltering heat - refreshing!" (Proverbs 25:13 MSG)

The more people trust you, the happier you're going to be. If people
don't trust you, you're going to live a pretty miserable life.

If you want to be happy, you've got to become somebody that people
trust.

Paul uses Timothy as an example of this: "You know the kind of person Timothy is. You know he
has served with me in telling the Good News, as a son serves his father" (Philippians 2:22
NCV).�

Paul had seen Timothy in action, in all kinds of circumstances, and he
considered him genuine, trustworthy, and reliable. God's Word translation says,
"You know what kind of person Timothy proved to be." Do people know what kind
of person you really are? Have you been proven trustworthy like Timothy?

Any time you go to a bank for a loan, they're going to do a credit
check. They want to know if you're worthy of being trusted with credit. Do you
pay your bills on time? Do you have a track record of keeping your word? Can
you be depended on to pay this money back? Are you creditable?

The thing is, everybody around you is doing a credit check on your life
every moment of your life. They want to know if you are what you say you are.
Are you the real deal? Are you showing your true colors? Can you be trusted?

If you're going to be happy in your relationships and in life, you have
to learn to be a trustworthy and reliable person.

How do you develop a reputation of reliability?

First, you live with integrity. Integrity doesn't mean you're perfect.
It means what you see is what you get. You are the real deal, because your
actions match your words.

Proverbs 25:13 says, "Reliable friends who do what they say are like cool drinks in
sweltering heat - refreshing!" (MSG) Can your friends rely on you to be the person
you claim to be?

Second, you keep your promises.

Psalm 15:4 says, "They
always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost" (TEV).

This means you keep a promise, even when you find out it's going to
cost you more than you thought.

Learning to live with integrity and keep your promises will show others
that you can be trusted and will in turn make you a much happier person.

Talk It
Over

Why do you think the Bible compares a reliable friend to a refreshing
drink in sweltering heat? What is the value of a trustworthy friend?Do you consider yourself to be a person of integrity? Why or why not?What are the ways you live your life differently in different
situations?

Forget Yourself, and Look to the Needs of Others

"Don't be obsessed with
getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping
hand." (Philippians 2:4
MSG)

The starting point for all happiness is shifting the focus away from
yourself. If all you think about is yourself, you're going to be a pretty
miserable person. If you truly want to be happy in life, you have to care about
the needs of those around you.

Paul gives Timothy as an example of this in Philippians 2:20-21: "There is no one like Timothy for
having a real interest in you; everyone else seems to be worrying about his own
plans and not those of Jesus Christ" (LB).

Most people are worrying about their own plans and aren't looking out
for the interests of others. Most people don't get up in the morning and give
their first thought to how someone else is doing. Most people are concerned
with their own problems. And, that's why most people are unhappy with their
lives!

If you want to be one of those rare, unselfish people, you've got to
change your focus. You have to shift your focus away from yourself to other
people. That's not something that comes naturally, so it's something you have
to learn to do.

I have to admit that it saddens me how many times I have missed the
needs of people around me that I love because I wasn't paying attention. I
wasn't taking an interest them. I hadn't shifted the focus from me to the
others in the room. Because I wasn't looking out for their needs, I missed
their needs. And that grieves me a lot.

Instead of grieving missed opportunities, be intentional about looking
away from yourself and to the needs of others, where you'll find happiness in
serving God through serving others.

"Don't be
obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend
a helping hand" (Philippians 2:4 MSG).

Talk It
Over

What are the distractions that keep you from focusing on the needs of
others?What does it mean to "forget yourself"?What needs have you neglected to address in someone's life because you
were too busy or focused on your own problems? What can you do today to shift
your focus toward helping that person?

You're Happiest When You Give Your Life Away

"If you insist on saving
your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake
and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live."
(Mark 8:35 LB)

God wired the
universe so that happiness does not come from status, salary, sex, or success.

Happiness
comes from service. God designed you to be happiest when you are giving your
life away. Why? Because he wants you to become like him. It's all about love!�

"If you insist on saving your life,
you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the
sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live" (Mark 8:35 LB).

To have a
happy heart, you have to practice service and generosity every day.

Matthew 20:28
says, "Even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many"
(NLT).

Jesus came to
serve and give. Those are the two things that will bring more happiness in your
life than anything else, and they define what it means to follow Jesus. If
you're not serving, if you're not giving, then you're not following Jesus. It's
very simple.

God also
wired the universe in such a way that the more you give yourself away, the more
God gives to you and the more blessed and happier you are.

In
Philippians 2:17-18, Paul says, "Your
faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to
offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with
all of you. You also should be happy and full of joy with me" (NCV).

Your faith
makes you offer your life as a sacrifice and serve God by serving others.
Sacrifice and serving are two of the keys to lifelong happiness - generously
giving your life away for the sake of the Gospel.

Talk It Over

What
makes you happiest in life?Talk
about a time when you experienced happiness through service or generosity.How
much of your time is spent on service? What are ways that you can serve others
today?

Get a Good Grip on God's Word

"Hold firmly to the Word
of Life." (Philippians 2:16a NLT)

God has
promised many wonderful benefits in your life if you will meditate on the Word
of God and then do it.

Surprisingly,
if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate on the Word of God.
Worry is when you take a negative thought and you think on it over and over and
over. When you take a passage of Scripture and you think on it over and over
and over, that's called meditation.

There are six
ways you can get a grasp on God's Word.

You
can hear it, You
can read it, You
can study it, You
can memorize it, You
can meditate on it, and You
can apply it.

But if all
you do is hear the Word of God when you go to church, you have no grip on the
Word of God, and it can be pulled out of your mind very easily.

The Bible
says in Philippians 2:16, "Hold firmly to
the Word of Life" (NLT). You don't have a good grip on the Bible unless
you're doing all six habits: hearing it, reading it, studying it, memorizing
it, meditating on it, and applying it.

Psalm 119:16
says, "Your laws make me happy. I never
forget your word" (GW). Do you want to be happy? God's principles will make
you happy, and you remember those principles by memorizing them, meditating on
them, and then applying them.

Psalm 119:35
says, "Make me walk along the path of
your commands, for that is where my happiness is found" (NLT). Usually
we're looking for happiness in all the wrong places. God says happiness is
found in the path of his commands.

Talk It Over

What
distractions keep you from being able to meditate on God's Word?Who
in your life can help you as you memorize Scripture? How can you help each
other in this discipline?What
does it say about God when we can find happiness by obeying his rules and
commands?

A Clear Conscience Means a Happy Heart

"What happiness for
those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What
relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record."
Psalm 32:1-2 (LB)

One thing
that causes us to lose our happiness is feeling guilty or ashamed. You've got
to get rid of guilt and maintain a clear conscience if you want to be happy,
because you cannot be guilty and happy at the same time.

Philippians
2:15 says, "Live clean, innocent lives as
children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and
perverse people" (NLT).

You might
say, "I'd like to be happy, but how do I keep my conscience clear when it's not
clear right now?" You need to do what Psalm 32:1-2 says: "What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when
sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and
God has cleared their record" (LB).

Happiness,
joy, and relief are three things everybody's looking for in life. We all want
to be happy. We all want to enjoy life. We all want relief from our pain. The
Bible says it comes from purity, and purity comes from forgiveness through
God's grace.

So, here's
one way to maintain a happy heart: Keep a clear conscience.

This means at
the beginning and at the end of every day doing a spiritual inventory, where
you talk to God about anything that is standing between you and him, and you
deal with the junk from your day. You practice what's called spiritual
breathing - you breathe out your sins in confession and you breathe in God's
power and cleansing. God promise that "if
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 NIV).

Talk It Over

What
do you need to talk to God about today so that you can clear your conscience?How
do you need to restructure your life so that you make time each day to do a
spiritual inventoryWould
others consider you a "bright light" in the world for Jesus Christ? What does
your happiness in Christ say to the rest of the world?

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"Do everything without
complaining or arguing, so that no one can criticize you." Philippians
2:14-15 (NLT)

Do you ever
fret and fight over the small stuff? Of course. We all do! It's a hard habit to
break because we're negative by nature. Ever since Adam and Eve, we have been
going around excusing and accusing. We excuse our own mistakes and then accuse
others for their mistakes - and more. We hide, and we hurl. We blame others for
the problems in our lives.

Philippians
2:14-15 says this: "Do everything without
complaining or arguing, so that no one can criticize you" (NLT). That may
be one of the most difficult verses in the Bible. Would you agree?

There are
four types of complainers I run into all the time.

First are the whiners. You can get up in the morning and
say, "Good morning, Lord!" but whiners choose instead to say, "Good Lord, it's
morning!"

Second are the martyrs. Their favorite expression is,
"Nobody appreciates me!" They're pros at throwing pity parties. They pout and
complain when they don't get their way.

Third are the cynics. Their attitude is, "Why bother? It
isn't going to make any difference." They poison everything.

Fourth are the perfectionists. Nothing is ever good enough for
these complainers. Their favorite phrase is, "Is that the best you can do?"

To me, the
scariest verse in the Bible is Matthew 12:36: "Everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every
empty word they have spoken" (NIV).

That ought to
send shivers up your spine. How many times have you complained, whined, or
argued about something when you shouldn't have been sweating the small stuff?
Don't sweat the small stuff.

Instead, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this
is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Talk It Over

What
do you consistently complain about in your life? Would you consider these
things "small stuff"? Why or why not?

How
do "empty words" (Matthew 12:36)
reflect a focus on the small stuff in life?

How
do you think complaining makes something that is difficult seem even worse?

God Is on Your Side

"For God is working in
you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."
Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

No matter
what you're going to face this next week, you're not going to face it alone.
God is with you, he is in you, and he is for you.

Philippians
2:13 says, "For God is working in you,
giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" (NLT).

"God is
working in you." The word "working" in Greek is the word energos, from which we get the word "energy." God is the energy
driver in your life. You're not just going on willpower. You're not just going
on your own power. God says he will give you the power you need, no matter what
you're facing.

Not only is
he in you, he is with you. The Bible
says, "I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you
are in me, and I am in you" (John 14:18, 20 NIV). That's quite a promise!
The Bible says Christ is in you; the Bible says you're hid with Christ in God;
and the Bible says you're sealed with the Holy Spirit. That means for the devil
to get to you, he's got to get through the Trinity! That's a pretty good
protection. That is a great fear reliever.

Not only is
God with you and in you; God is also for
you. Romans 8:31 says, "If God is for us,
no one can defeat us" (NCV).

When a
shepherd leads the sheep, there are always guard dogs at the back, nipping at
the sheep to keep them moving in the right direction.

The Bible
says that the guard dogs in your life are goodness and mercy. God gives you the
things you don't deserve - that is his goodness. And, he doesn't give you the
things you do deserve - that's his
mercy.

Do you ever
feel the smile of God in your life? If you don't, you don't really know God.
Some people think God is like the angry parent who's mad at them all the time.
No. God is for you!

If you want
to be happy, you need to get up every morning and say, "God, thank you that
you're going to be with me today, you're going to be in me today, and you're
going to be for me today."

Isn't that
great news? If God is with you, and God is in you, and God is for you, what in
the world are you doing being depressed?

Talk It Over

How
do you think God wants you to access his power that is available to you?When
do you doubt God's presence the most? Ask God for faith to see him at work in
your life.How
will your perspective of a difficult situation change now that you know God is
on your side?