Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting Psalm 136:1-4

The key to life is looking for things to be grateful for and practicing gratitude. Some people live their lives never thinking about gratitude and are full of regrets, complaints, and grudges. We know as Christians that we can never be happy if we are not thankful. Now, once we’ve decided to be grateful, we seek out things to be thankful. Should we start with our health, loved ones, jobs, and present situation? No.

When we seek out things to be thankful for, we must first seek out the Lord. Finding gratefulness equals finding the Lord. How does this work? Whatever good thing we have received starts with “The Lord gave this to me. Thank you!” So when we look for things to be thankful for, we grow closer to God because we realize everything good in life comes from the Lord. Let’s say there was a person who fed us when we were hungry, gave us warm clothing in the winter, paid for our tuition and helped us in our most dire times. Would you be grateful to this person? Would this person occupy a space in your thoughts? Would you be eternally grateful? That person is the Lord!

Next, when we are thankful, we discover happiness. Grateful people are happy people. If you’ve been down and full of despair, look no further than your lack of gratitude. Whenever you feel sad or lost, stop and think about what the Lord has done for you. Stop and think about what Jesus did for you. “Jesus died on the cross for me and gave me eternal life!” Be grateful for what Jesus has given you. Once you do this, you will feel joy.

When you are thankful, it opens the door to God’s infinite blessings. Without being grateful, God will never bless you. Think about it. Sometimes we pray to God for things, but we never practice gratitude or being grateful every day. Do you think God listens to a person who lacks a grateful heart? No! When we are thankful, we discover God’s infinite mercy; we discover God is our refuge, our rock, fortress, and deliverer; by practicing gratitude, our hearts melt as we realize God has created the universe for our salvation.

And finally, when we are grateful, we discover the world and universe belong to us. We realize everything in the heavens and earth, the past, present, and future belong to us because God is the creator of everything. We understood that everything belongs to us, and God gives us exactly what we need, no more and no less.

A grateful person is always happy. If you practice gratitude every day, you will have peace of mind. You will be free from worries. Stop looking around for ways to be happy and content. There is no other way except to be thankful for the Lord. Being thankful brings you closer to the Lord; it opens the door to happiness and God’s infinite blessings. It opens your eyes to the fact that everything in the universe belongs to you and works in favor of your salvation.

If you do not practice gratitude daily, complaining is the first thing to seep into your heart. You complain about everything. Nothing is right, and it’s everybody else’s fault. After complaining, resentment sets in. After resentment, pain follows suit. You’re physically and emotionally in pain. Life hurts. After pain, hatred sets in. You hate everything and you’ve successfully created a hell on earth, which is your life. Regardless of what stage you are in, you can break free by simply being thankful. Practice gratitude every day and see how happiness seeps into every pore of your life!

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1985-2-11-mixdown-123