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Does Gratitude Matter? (Quick Hit!) · Provoke & Inspire Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: One of the most important parts of your spiritual life is gratitude, and I am going to tell you why.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: What's up, guys?
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: This is Ben Pierce, and this is Provoked and Inspired Quick Hit, where I take something from culture and I ask the question what would Jesus think and what would Jesus do?
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: If you enjoy this content, consider subscribing to the channel so you can get all of the latest updates when they come out.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Also, we'd love to hear from you, so please comment, and if you'd share this with someone, that would be greatly appreciated as well.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Alright, let's go.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Perhaps the greatest indication of spiritual health is gratitude.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: You might be confused, but let me explain.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I have been a touring artist for more than 15 years and, honestly, it has been amazing.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Despite late nights and long van drives and setting up and packing down and living out of a suitcase, I am more grateful than ever to do what I do.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: The fact is, the majority of people in the world struggle to survive and they're wondering where their next meal is coming from.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: To have time and resources to paint or take pictures or make films or play music is a blessing very few people in history have experienced.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Being an artist is an incredible privilege, but that is just the icing on the cake.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: The fact that I have a healthy brain and body, that I woke up today, that I'm well fed and clothed, that I live in a nice house these are reasons enough to produce an eternally grateful heart.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: And, of course, this says nothing about what Jesus has done for me.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: I should be shouting my praise to God from the rooftops, but do I?
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I think a lack of gratitude is incredibly serious.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: To not be grateful is simply not to understand reality.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: In Philippians 6, paul says that we should not be anxious about anything, but in all things, with prayer and thanksgiving, make our requests known to God.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: I find that we often dismiss the word Thanksgiving in this text, but it is of huge significance.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Look, if atheists are right.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: We have very good reasons to be anxious, but we know they're not.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: God is real and true hope comes from Him.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Thinking God is our way of realigning our hearts with the reality that he is in control, that he provides and that he cares for us.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: While I was in university, I learned to seek God with an earnest heart and, honestly, this changed my whole life.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: During this season, I really felt drawn to the idea of just thanking God.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: I would often go out in prayer walks and never ask for anything.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: I would simply thank God for all that he had done and all that he was doing.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: In my life, I found myself increasingly aware of His power and provision, and this produced a gratitude in me that simply made my requests seem less important.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: As I've matured in my faith, I've made thanking God a crucial discipline, and I believe I've learned some critical aspects of gratitude that I believe are worth sharing.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So I want to share three with you.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: The first is being grateful is not a feeling but a choice.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Like all things that matter in life, we have to choose to do what is right.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: I rarely feel like working out, I rarely feel like being generous or selfless, and I certainly rarely feel like being grateful, but I have decided to voice my gratitude.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: I have decided to recognize all that God has done for me and to acknowledge that with my words and with my attitude.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Deciding is the horse that pulls the cart, and this is a critical aspect of any spiritual discipline and, in particular, of gratitude.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: Secondly, it's not enough to just think about it.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: I really believe there is power in declaration.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: We sing worship songs in part as a way of declaring who God is and what he has done.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: I have seen that when I speak the truth, it is cemented in my heart.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: That is why memorizing Scripture is so crucial.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: When we speak out our gratitude to Him, it has a way of melting this spirit of complaining that can take hold of us.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: We can think well, I feel grateful.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Isn't that enough?
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: In my experience, it's not.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: We have to speak it, we have to say it, and when we do, it has a profound impact on how we feel and how we live.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Thirdly and finally, gratitude grows.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: As I have matured in the spiritual discipline of thanksgiving, I've seen growth in this area of my life.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: My view of God has increased, my understanding of His faithfulness has deepened and I'm a better steward of what God has given me.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Believing thanksgiving starts as a routine and has developed into a deep passion, like a muscle.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: The more I've exercised it, the more it has grown.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: We can often think it's just an organic thing that will happen, but the truth is, like I said we have to decide, we have to speak it out loud and over time it grows.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: As I reflect on my life and all that I've been given, my sense of gratitude continues to deepen.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: I'm convinced that, far more than just a polite social behavior gratitude being thankful it predicts someone's spiritual well-being, it indicates someone's spiritual well-being and it reflects that we truly understand who God is and what he has done for us.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: And so, daily, I choose to dwell on the goodness of God and I decide to be thankful when I feel it.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: I decide to be thankful when I don't feel it, and I decide to be thankful until I feel it, because, in light of what Jesus has done for me, I better be grateful.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: All right, guys.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: That's it for Provoked and Inspired Quick Hit.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed it.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: I hope it was encouraging to you.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: Let's remember to incorporate gratitude into our own lives.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: I think it'll have a transformative impact on your life.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Otherwise, leave us a rating and review on this content.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: If it's encouraging, check out Stiger, the missions organization that this podcast is a part of.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: And that's it for now.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you next time, peace.