Gratitude is evidence of growth

Preaching a week after her husband Pastor Chuck spoke on growing in grace, Pastor Urshanna Colegrove turns to growing in gratitude. Summer is a growing season, and our lives grow as we are rooted in God's Word. Her key verse is Colossians 2:6–7, where Paul connects deep roots in Christ to overflowing thankfulness. Gratitude is much more than good manners, a bubbly personality, or a once-a-year holiday; it is a lifestyle and a mark of spiritual maturity. "Shallow people complain about everything. Rooted people can find something to be grateful for." Getting rooted takes time and the discipline of mind, mouth, and heart, as Proverbs 4:23 urges us to guard our hearts.

Thanks in all circumstances

Gratitude is recognizing and responding to the goodness of God. It is not pretending everything is good but recognizing that God is good in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to give thanks in all circumstances, and Pastor Urshanna notes that the Greek word for all means all, not just the good ones. She does not thank God for the pain but that He is with her through it, not for the diagnosis but for keeping her through it, not for the closed door but that she can trust Him with the doors. Gratitude does not deny reality; it decides where to focus.

Gratitude changes what I see

Psalm 103:2 says never to forget the good things God does, and David wrote that because we forget. We remember one criticism and forget ten compliments, one closed door and forget five opened ones, the prayer still pending and forget the prayers already answered. The job you are frustrated with, the house you are fixing, and the kids causing stress are all things you once prayed for. Maybe we do not need more blessing but a change of focus and better vision. David, in his loneliest and most fearful moments, always found his way back to praise, and his praise came before the problem was solved.

Gratitude changes what I say

From Luke 17, ten lepers cried out, ten were healed, but only one, a Samaritan, came back shouting praise and fell at Jesus' feet. The other nine were surely grateful and relieved, but they never stopped to thank the One who healed them. Gratitude does not stay in your heart; it comes out of your mouth. Unexpressed gratitude is incomplete gratitude. If you are thankful for your spouse, parents, coworkers, or pastors, tell them.

Gratitude changes how I face what is next

Habakkuk 3:17–18 holds two powerful words: though and yet. Though the fig tree does not bud, yet I will rejoice. Pastor Urshanna, who admits she can grow kids but not plants, recalls moving from twenty years in Texas to plant a church in Chicago in January, then walking through Oak Park in March when everything looked dead until little bits of green and then tulips, her favorite flower, pushed through the ground. They had been planted in the fall when nothing could be seen, and they made their entrance right on time. When we are rooted in Christ, His Word, and community, nothing stops what God has planted from coming up. Mature faith thanks God while the seed is still underground; gratitude is faith for tomorrow.

Notice it, name it, say so

Pastor Urshanna gives three practices. Notice it: Psalm 34:8 says to taste and see that the Lord is good, so ask every day where God was good and slow down enough to see it. Name it: Psalm 34:1 speaks of constant praise, and the old song says to count your blessings one by one; specific gratitude, thanking God for each child by name, for health, provision, and friends who build you up, changes the heart in a way general gratitude cannot. Express it: Psalm 107 says the redeemed of the Lord should say so, so write the note, make the call, send the text, and tell the world what He has done.

One came back

Returning to Luke 17, Pastor Urshanna wonders if the room is full of ones. The nine seem to say they deserved the healing, which is a kind of pride; the one says he did not deserve it but is thankful anyway. Nine enjoyed the blessing; one acknowledged the Blesser. Before asking for the next miracle or the next season, she invites the church to stand, fall at His feet, and fill the room with thanksgiving, closing with a reading from Psalm 66.