Overcoming Unthankful Thinking
1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Intro: Life’s circumstances are often unpleasant, unfair, and may not automatically invoke a sense of gratitude. Sometimes when we face trying circumstances we tend to react in ways that are unhelpful. Behavioral experts have identified a number of thinking errors that are fairly common among people from all walks of life. Many of these are defense mechanisms we think will help us cope with disappointment, stress, grief, or trauma. However, as I was looking at them, I realized that several of them moved in a direction that led away from a spirit of gratitude. Granted, some things in life are very hard to be thankful for. It seems like even in our small community there is one tragedy after another. How can we be thankful for those? Especially in the midst of grief and unbelievable sadness?
-Well, the Bible does talk about that, but first it helps to realize that God fully understands what we are going through even in our most trying times. Even when we face pain and grief, God wants to help us guard our hearts and attitudes and maintain a sense of gratefulness to Him for who He is and all He has done. Yes, we may find ourselves in escape mode sometimes as we deal with our problems, but God is very gracious to us and wants to teach us how not to let our problems define us. If my problems make me bitter, harsh, and unthankful, then I am allowing them to define me. But that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. God wants to help us learn to find His blessings in each circumstance, and be grateful to Him for working all things together for our good. It really boils down to a trust issue. Do we really believe that God is in control and can handle anything, or does He lack the power, ability, or time to be who He has always been and come through for us? If we can begin to understand today that thankfulness is a form of praise directed to our Creator and Savior, it will help us get our thinking straight as we face the struggles of this life. And that’s the main thought today:
Prop: Fixing our “thanking” errors can help us fix many of our “thinking” errors.
-Before we look at some common thinking errors, let’s talk about a practical benefit that comes from being a thankful person.
I. Our Thoughts Affect Every Area of our Lives!
-Dr. Michael Jacobson cited a study in which patients were asked to recall various types of emotional experiences while doctors monitored how it affected their bodies. Each patient was asked to relive the experience in their minds for five minutes.
-When the patients thought for five minutes about experiences that made them depressed, they found out that it affected the patients’ immune system and their antibody levels dropped 55%. Six hours later, their immune system was still depressed.
-But when the patients thought for five minutes about situations that made them happy, their antibody levels rose 40% and it was still elevated six hours later. (“Stress and the Heart” Dr. Michael Jacobson, October 1996). This is medical evidence that the thoughts we think affects our bodies, either positively or negatively. http://www.kentcrockett.com/
-The Bible shows the lack of gratitude as one if the identifiable marks of a person who has drifted or is drifting away from God.
Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
-Some of our thinking can be counter-productive to a thankful heart and to good mental health. These errors in thinking, if taken to the extreme, can inhibit both personal growth and growth in relationships, both socially and spiritually. Here is a list of some thinking errors that are not compatible with thanksgiving:
II. Common Thinking Errors That Can Cause Harm
1. All or nothing thinking: You see things in extremes, everything is black or white. This can be obvious or subtle for example saying 'He is always late, but I never get angry over it'. This mindset can be that of the perfectionist also.
2. Minimizing or catastrophizing: You exaggerate the importance of small things. 'The entire meal was ruined because the desert was not served promptly.' Is this a catastrophe? An example of minimizing is taking a significant issue or event and reducing its importance so it appears inconsequential. People often do this so as not to have to deal with uncomfortable emotions or consequences.
3. Overgeneralization: You take a single event and draw general conclusions that it is universally true. If your date is late you say 'All men/women are always late'.
4. Minimizing or qualifying the positive: If someone says you did a good job, you respond by saying 'I could have done better'.
5. Jumping to conclusions: This one is pretty self explanatory. You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that really support your conclusion. 'My boss didn't say Hi this morning, I'm in big trouble.'
6. Mind reading: Couples are often guilty of this, if he/she loved me they would know what I want. You arbitrarily conclude that someone is reacting in a negative way to you and don't bother to check it out. 'I know what you're thinking.'
7. Should and must statements: These are shame generators. "Musts" and "oughts" are also offenders. This can be the product of inflexible and rigid thinking. 'I must not let them see me cry.' 'I should have been there'. The emotional consequence of failure to adhere to the rule is shame and guilt. When you direct should statements toward others, you are setting up unrealistic expectations and if they don't behave the way they 'should' anger and resentment result.
8. Emotional Reasoning: While your feelings are valid, and they are your own, they do not necessarily reflect fact. Being frustrated at not being able to accomplish a task does not mean you are dumb. Feeling hopelessness does not mean you are hopeless.
9. Personalization: You see yourself as the cause of some negative event for which, in fact, you were not really responsible. Your loan application is not approved; it does not mean the loan officer had it in for you. (By: Bill Urell, on www.experiencefestival.com)
-While all of us may be guilty of some of these mindsets, the danger is when they become a persistent view of yourself, others and the world around you. There are certainly many more thinking errors than these listed, especially concerning the truth about God! People may have all kinds of reasons for not thanking God regularly. We don’t have time to go into them all, but some deny God out of anger, pain, or grief. Some withhold thanks because they are so busy doing their own thing! They don’t stop and think about whose world they are living in and whose air they are breathing, whose creation they are enjoying, and whose resources they are using. Taking God and His blessings for granted has to be one of the biggest thinking errors of all time!
-So, what positive thing can we do about these thinking errors when we recognize them? I like what the Bible says about our thoughts and how we should handle them: 2 Corinthians 10:5 [With the weapons God gives us,] “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
III. The Best Corrective!
-God’s word, The Bible, is the best way I know to correct thinking errors. There are so many things to thank and praise God for! Let’s look at several of them in the Bible so we will never be without something to thank the Lord for!
Reasons to Give Thanks to God
1. Because God is good!
-1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
-What a great remedy for all of the negativity of these thinking errors! I don’t have to exaggerate or assume the worst, or minimize because God is good! And if God is for us, then who can be against us?
2. Because His love never stops!
-1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
3. Because He is our source!
-1 Chronicles 29:12-14 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
4. Because of God’s righteousness!
-Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
5. Because He helps us!
-Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
6. Because He turns our sorrows into joy!
-Psalm 30:11-12 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
7. Because He has delivered us!
-Psalm 56:12-13 12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
8. Because He is near!
-Psalm 75:1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; men tell of your wonderful deeds.
9. Because He is great!
-Psalm 95:2-3 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
10. Because He provides nourishment!
-Psalm 107:8-9 8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
11. Because He has freed us!
-Psalm 116:16-17 you have freed me from my chains. 17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
12. Because He responds to us!
-Psalm 118:21 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
13. Because He heals us!
-Luke 17:14-16 14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-- and he was a Samaritan.
14. Because He gives us the victory!
-1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.
15. Because He shares His life with us!
-2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
16. Because He has an inheritance for us!
-Colossians 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
17. Because He gave us a new family!
-1 Thessalonians 3:9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?
18. Because it is God’s will to thank Him!
-1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
19. Because we are growing together in Christ!
-2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.
20. Because God loves us and has saved us!
-2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
21. Because He has a purpose for us!
-1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
22. Because it is good and pleases God!
-1 Timothy 2:1-4 1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
23. Because we are receiving an unshakable kingdom!
-Hebrews 12:28-29 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
24. Because He created all things!
-Revelation 4:9-11 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
25. Because God will rule and reign over everything!
-Revelation 11:17 "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
26. Because it helps bring God’s peace to our hearts!
-Philippians 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
-Giving thanks to God is one of the most appropriate and natural expressions from the heart of a follower of Jesus! As we begin to turn our thinking errors into expressions of thanksgiving, we will find that we are filled with more joy, we have a greater sense of God living in us and working in our lives, and those around us will see and know that God is good and desires to help those who will call on Him.
-If you have not yet made a commitment to follow Jesus, then your attempts at giving genuine thanks and praise to God will leave you feeling somewhat incomplete. But that’s not how God wants it to be! He says that whoever wants to may come to Me. I will never drive them away. And when you ask Him to forgive you for the things you’ve done wrong in the past, He does it, based on what Jesus did on the cross! It’s yours for the asking! If you need to ask God to be your forgiver and leader, would you do it today?
-Calling on God is the start of something new and real that will grow as you begin to do life with God and with others who are part of His family. When we call on God, He not only forgives us and makes us clean before Him, but He heals us and restores us and gives us a new beginning! And that is something we can certainly praise Him for!
