Why do we need to cultivate gratitude in our lives II
Greetings to all of you!
Thanks to all of you for finding the time to read this message from God for this day. God’s Word is alive and active! And my desire is that you would fall in love with it and become the carriers of it. Yesterday we began talking about the importance of developing a grateful heart. And we saw that:
- Being grateful is God’s will for us.
- Thanksgiving keeps the channel of God’s favour open for us.
- Thanksgiving makes our minds and understanding open.
Today we will continue to examine why it is so important to be the person whose heart is full of gratitude.
- Gratitude makes us like Christ.
«For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren» (Romans, 8:29).
It is God’s desire for us to be conformed into the image of God’s only Son – Jesus Christ. Gratitude is one of the qualities that help us to do that. Later we will see how gratitude was demonstrated in the life of Jesus and how many events in His life were directly connected to thanksgiving.
Being ungrateful is a defect in a person’s character. It is a root of various evil in our society:
«For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy» (2 Timothy, 3:2).
Thanksgiving is a part of the process of forming a person’s character. So it is very important to not only learn to be grateful, but also teach our children to say ‘thank you’. Learn to say ‘thank you’ to you wife, your husband, your parents etc. This quality always starts at home.
- Thanksgiving connects our hearts to God:
«When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statues which I command you today, lest – when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end – then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’» (Deuteronomy, 8:10-17).
Many forget God and give up faith because of an ungrateful heart. They forget all the things God has done for them and how He has brought them out of the life of sin. If you develop a grateful heart, you will never backslide from God even during the most terrible storms of life. A grateful heart firmly connects a person to God.
- Thanksgiving in different life situations is an expression of our faith and trust in God’s love and care.
«Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God» (Philippians, 4:6).
«He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God» (Romans, 4:20).
«But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed» (Acts, 16:25-26).
- A grateful heart is the victory over haughtiness and pride.
A grateful heart helps a person acknowledge the part God and other people play in his life, his accomplishments and progress. It helps a person keep his heart in humility and makes God’s grace available for him.
May God help you see the important of gratitude in the life of us as believers!
God bless you!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
