This sermon explores the concept of gratitude and blessings, likening it to a game of Hide the Thimble where one must seek out and recognize the blessings in their life.
Many of us have memories of playing the game Hide and Seek as children. But, have you ever heard of Hide and Seek’s distant cousin, Hide the Thimble? A sewing thimble is pretty small, about the size of the tip of your index finger. Here’s how the game works: One person hides the thimble and everyone else looks for it. Not too complicated I know. But here’s the catch, as the finders get further and further away from the thimble the hider will begin to say, “You’re getting colder, colder.” In the opposite way, as the finders get closer to the target the hider says, “You’re getting warmer, warmer.” And eventually, “hotter, hotter, and hotter,” until the thimble is found.
Pastor and author, Aiden Wilson Tozer, made a profound observation: “What comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” I think he’s right, but here’s the challenge. In the beginning, God created us in His image. We’ve been creating God in our image ever since. And when we project our inclinations, our imperfections, our idiosyncrasies onto God, what we end up with is a god, lower-case g, who looks and acts and talks and thinks a lot like us. It’s a false image, a false idol. Let me cut to the chase: what comes to mind when you think about God? What is God’s posture toward you? What expression is He wearing on His face? What is the tone of His voice?
If God has a frown on His face, I think you’re getting colder, colder. If God has smile lines around His eyes, if God is reaching toward you with arms wide open, I think you’re getting warmer, warmer. And if God’s posture is one of blessing, if you are the apple of God’s eyes, if you can hear the pride in God’s voice as He speaks over you, “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter, in whom I am well pleased.” Now you’re getting hotter, hotter!
What comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.
We are in a series called Double Blessing and today’s sermon is titled, An Attitude of Gratitude. Let’s pick up where we left off last week.
Before original sin, there was original blessing. That sequence is significant. Blessing is God’s most ancient instinct. It sets the tone. It sets the table. Now, God won’t bless greed or pride or laziness. We have to position ourselves for blessing, but God’s posture toward us, God’s default setting, God’s first and foremost reflex is blessing. It’s who God is. It’s what God does. God wants to bless you beyond your ability to ask or imagine. God has blessings for you in categories you cannot conceive of.
If we were to play a little word association game, and I said “discerning the will of God,” I’m guessing that many of us, maybe most of us, think logistics. We think who, what, when, where, and how. Discerning the will of God is decision making. It’s making the right move at the right time, and that is a piece of the puzzle. God is ordering our footsteps. God is preparing good works in advance. God is setting up divine appointments, and we need to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. That said, the will of God is a lot less circumstantial and a lot more attitudinal than we think. In fact, you already know the will of God. Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances.
Many of us are way too worried about making mistakes or wrong turns. We are afraid that one mistake could bring down the whole house of cards. Let me relieve a little pressure. God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. And God is awfully good at getting us there! The will of God is less about logistics and more about cultivating the character of Christ in every circumstance. I said this last week: The circumstances you are asking God to change may be the circumstances God is using to change you!
What I want to do this weekend is unpack these verses, and talk about cultivating the attitude of gratitude.
James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium
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