Into Thanking
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SEEKING CHANGE IN MY ATTITUDES |
Into Thanking
Key Passage:
Deuteronomy 8:2; 10
“2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”
Intro:
Have you ever gone hiking? Last summer, I went hiking with some young adults from our church. Renzo led a group of us to Mout Tammany. I have a love-hate relationship with this trail. It is definitely not for beginners. In the first five minutes, we already had to climb steep steps. Then, we went through some rocky paths, steep tracks, and winding walkways to reach the peak. It was a hard hike is putting it mildly.
Many times during the hike, I contemplated giving up and turning around because I was exhausted, but I never did because it would be a waste to turn back. After an hour and a half, we finally got to the mountain's peak. We stopped to soak in the magnificent view of the Delaware River going through two hills. I was thankful for our hike. Even if it was difficult, the view at the top is one of the most beautiful sceneries I’ve seen.
I shared this story because I can see how this hike can relate to our message today. In seeking change in our attitudes, I believe it helps to view our lives as a hike. There may be rough terrains we can go through. Our current situations may not be what we imagined them to be. But if we take the time to step back, contemplate on our journey and let God transform us, I believe we can genuinely be thankful through it all.
I. Remember the Past (v.2-3)
“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
As our series moves from complaining to thanking, we will discuss the Israelites again and see how their journey has transformed them. Their time in the wilderness was a judgment of God because of their distrust and rebellion of His will. As a result, not even Moses was allowed to enter Canaan. Only the second generation of Israelites, along with Joshua and Caleb, were able to enter the Promised Land. In the book of Deuteronomy, we find that the Israelites were at the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The theme of this book is the need for Israelites to remember. Before entering the land, Moses will remind them of their history and covenant with Yahweh. This was important because they may have been too young to know what led them there. They also needed to be reminded of the importance of the law in their society and way of life.
In our chapter, we see that Moses told the people they should remember how Yahweh dealt with them during their time in the wilderness. Yes, it was a difficult and trying time for them. And yet, God’s presence and care for them was very much evident. In those forty years, God showed grace after grace as He provided their necessities to survive their harsh journey. God provided them with food, shelter, and water in the harsh desert. In Exodus 40:38, we even see that the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of smoke by night were with them all those years. God never left nor deserted His people.
Moreover, their time in the wilderness was not just a time of judgment but also a time of molding. In our verses, we find that God humbled and tested His people. God was not finished with the Israelites. God humbled them by taking away all they thought they could depend on. They needed to realize they should not put their whole trust in the bread they could make for themselves. They should trust in the Lord’s every word. This phrase is not just about the Scriptures but what God provides for them. God did not want them to rely on themselves but to realize they could trust and depend on Him entirely.
As the Lord tested the people, it was not that God did not know if their trust in Him was genuine. Instead, they needed to know for themselves what their faith was made of. Ultimately, their wilderness journey made them more like the people God wanted them to be. They were prepared and ready to enter Canaan.
What does this have to do with us today? We need to recognize we also have a need to remember. You and I may have our own wilderness journeys. Maybe it was a time when we were going through immense struggles and hardships. Yet, as we reflect, we might find that our most difficult times were when God was displaying His love and care for us the most. Let us remember He did not desert us nor leave us. He was always there. Instead, He was there helping us to trust Him more.
In her book, Beautiful Disaster, Marlena Graves writes, “the wilderness has a way of curing our illusions about ourselves and teaching us to depend more and more on God. When we first enter, we’re convinced we’ve entered the bowels of hell. But on our pilgrimage, we discover that the desert drips with the divine. We discover that desert land is fertile ground for spiritual activity, transformation, and renewal.”
Let’s look back and realize God was always with us, letting us know you can trust and depend on Him. If God was faithful to us in the past, He will always be and will never change. When we remember our past wilderness experiences, we can thank God because many times, that is when He does His best work in our lives. He gently humbles us, and in turn, we prove that our faith and trust in Him are sincere and genuine. He was on our side in the desert even when we don’t realize it. He changes and transforms us from the inside out as He walks with us closely. So let’s remember the past and be thankful for how God has used us to form who we are today.
II. Perspective on the Present (v.4-6)
“Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him”
After Moses talked about how Yahweh humbled them and proved their faith in the wilderness, he reminded them of their relationship with the Lord their God. Here, Moses emphasizes the unique and intimate relationship the people of Israel had with God. God dealt with them as a loving Father, caring for them enough even to clothe them and for their feet not to swell. And because the Lord is a Father, He loves them enough to discipline them. He wasn’t going to leave them in sin and rebelliousness.
So what should be the people’s response to this kind of relationship? First, they should keep the Lord’s commandments by walking in his ways and fearing Him. It means to continue and follow the Lord in awe and reverence of Him. As they step into the Promised Land, they need to remember He is worthy to be followed not just because of what He’s done for them but also because of who He is for them. The Lord God is their Heavenly Father.
Many people do not find the kind of intimate relationship we can have with God. A lot of us can see our relationship with God as transactional. We think that when we serve and do something for the Lord, God is obligated to repay us what is owed us. We don’t see God as a Father but as a boss who owes us what we have worked for.
Resentment against God starts when this is our view of God. We grumble and complain against God because we think we are given less than we deserve. Whatever God has done for us in the past does not matter. We ask for what He has done for us lately. And then, we do not see the love and care when He disciplines us. We do not understand that everything He does is because we are His children and He is our Father.
When we find that God is our Father and everything in our lives comes from Him, we discover the richness of His grace. His blessings are all around us. Everything is a gift from our Heavenly Father. Many times, we just fail to notice them. One thing about a gift is we don’t work for them. Our Father freely gives it to us, not because we deserve it, but because He loves us. Even with the things we don’t recognize, they are a gift of God. We need to appreciate the times of discipline as well. This is how we know that God loves us and He won’t leave us be. His disciplines are a confirmation of our relationship with Him. When we step back from the rigors of today and take time to contemplate, I believe we will find ourselves blessed beyond our imaginations. We find there are innumerable reasons why we can thank God. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
So the challenge for us is to shift our outlook. Instead of looking down on our lives, facing resentment and bitterness, what if we look up to the grace of God? What if we explore His innumerable gifts in our lives? This way, we train our hearts and minds to be thankful that we have a Heavenly Father who cares and loves us in ways we can’t even imagine. Let’s contemplate the countless blessings God is giving us.
When we have this perspective, it helps us be thankful day by day. Talking about being thankful, I remember one of the best movie quotes ever from Kung Fu Panda. Master Oogway tells Po not to worry about what happened or what will happen for him but to focus on the gift of today. Oogway says, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.”
Now the reality is that we cannot do this alone. We need each other to help us develop a heart of gratitude. Our College and Young Adults group usually share what we are thankful for. I feel blessed when I hear what the Lord is doing in their lives. I am reminded that God is working in them. They were actually the most thankful in the simplest blessings in their lives. You see, resentment and complaining thrive in isolation. In giving thanks along with others, we help each other realize God is a good Father working in every one of us in unique ways. We help to remind each other we can look up to our Heavenly Father.
In His book, Spiritual Formation, Henri Nouwen writes, “the church, as an institution, is often a breeding place for resentment, authentic Christian community occurs where there is fertile ground for gratitude to grow, for gifts to be received, and for blessings to be shared… Authentic Christian community nurtures the spirit of gratitude and service in the spiritual life. It does so by inviting us to give constant attention to the condition of our hearts, where we listen to the voice of God and respond with thanksgiving.”
III. Hope for the Future (v. 7-10)
“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”
In the last section of our passage, Moses reminds Israel of the good land Yahweh promised them. The Lord will bring them into a good land as He promised. After wandering in the desert for forty years, they will experience significant provisions and prosperity. Israel will no longer experience scarcity, instead they will be satisfied.
No longer will they be thirsty while they wander in the heat. They will no longer be hungry because the land will be full of provisions. They will even be financially secured because of their precious metals. Israel will find God faithful, and they will bless Him. Israel’s hope in God’s promise will finally be realized, and Israel will praise God in the good land He brought them.
God’s people can praise God not just because of His faithfulness yesterday or His care for today. They thank Him believing He will take care of their tomorrow. Here is the hope for you and me. For a Christian, the best is yet to come. It may be hard to see it, especially when everything seems to go wrong. However, we have a God that has a promise to us, and He will never fail His promise. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds our tomorrow.
This is why we can thank God today. We know He is not finished with us. He molds us to be the men and women He calls us to be. He blesses us with innumerable gifts in His amazing grace. He prepares for us a future too fantastic for us to even comprehend. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “but, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
What is amazing is that just as He brought Israel into the good land of Canaan, God is also bringing us into a good land to be with Him forever. The Father gave His own Son to lead us the way to a land where there will be no more thirst, hunger, or lack. The way to this good land, the way to Heaven, is none other than to be with the Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we turn from our paths and surrender to Him as he brings us to that good land. In Heaven, we will bless the Lord. As we enjoy our eternity with Him, we will forever praise and thank Him for the journey he placed us on. There will be endless thanksgiving, and we will look back at our lives, and it will be apparent that He has been faithful.
As we end this message, I would just like to give us some simple and practical steps we can develop to have a thankful and grateful attitude:
With a journal, write out the ways God has blessed you even in your own wilderness journey. Then, keep looking back for the ways God has blessed you.
Count your blessings daily. Start mornings by thanking Him even for the little things. Then, at night, reflect on how He has cared for you throughout the day.
Share your praises with others. Encourage each other in your community on how God is shaping you and blessing you.
Remind yourself your future is sealed and secured. Note and memorize some beautiful promises in the Scriptures God has for you.
-Rev. Jerusalem Ona