Greetings to you, dear friends! Grace and peace to you from Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible calls us to always rejoice and give thanks in everything. Yesterday we discussed that God seeks worshippers, because He wants to give them peace and fulfilment! Worship is the source of fulfilment, and thanksgiving is the foundation of true worship. We also talked about how the lack of gratitude robs a person of the joy of fellowship with God and the joy of the ministry to God. Today let’s look at the life of Joseph and see what the place of thanksgiving was in his life. God did so much for Joseph. He saved his life when his brothers wanted to kill him. God showed him favor when he was sold into slavery. God abundantly blessed the work of his hands that his master placed him over his whole property. Joseph never forgot these blessings from the Lord. The realizations of God’s mercy filled Joseph’s heart with gratitude toward God and his master. It was his grateful heart that did not allow Joseph to hurt or grieve God:
«And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, „Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”»(Genesis, 39:7-9).
If we forget where God has brought us from, then our hearts get filled with arrogance and pride and our bond with God weakens. A grateful heart always ties a person to God. Many of us today could have been alcoholics if not for God’s grace that touched our lives. Many of us could have destroyed our lives if not for God Who intervened and changed our lives. Many of us would have been slaves to sin, if not for God’s great mercy that made us the servants of God. That is why Apostle Paul wrote: «I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God» (Romans, 12:1-2).
Pall calls us to remember God’s mercy, give ourselves to Him, serve Him, seek His will and live for Him. When you live having a realization of God’s mercy, then your heart is filled with gratitude and then it is easy to live for God and other people. Gratitude births sacrificial living and ministry, and a sacrificial living kills lust. The world today is destroyed by different forms of lust. Sacrificial living is the alternative of lust! «…by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust» (2 Peter, 1:4).
Lust means to seek self-gratification. The Bible says though: «Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interest of others» (Philippians, 2:4).
When a person realizes the part God and other people play in his life, he cannot keep living for himself only. Gratitude causes a desire to live sacrificially and help others. First of all, we must give thanks to God Who has given us life. It says in the Bible for all that have breath to praise God: «Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! » (Psalm, 150:6).
Our every breath is a gift from God. We must be grateful to God for our every breath. A grateful heart makes a person into an effective minister to God. Commitment to God and ministry to people are expressions of our gratitude to God Who shows us mercy. Just like faith without works is dead, so our gratitude cannot be expressed in words only. True gratitude will inevitable be confirmed by the work of ministry of God and people. May this day be the day when you will look out not only for yourself, but also for the others! We will continue tomorrow! God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
