Why do we need to cultivate gratitude in our lives

Greetings to you, my dear readers! I am so glad I can share with and bring to you the word that I believe will inspire and encourage you. Today I would like to start talking about the importance of gratitude or thanksgiving. Gratitude is a powerful force that enriches the life of every person, especially a believer. Many people who do not understand the importance of being thankful are very careless about it. When you have an understanding of what the results of thankfulness are in your life, then you actions will have meaning and influence. So why do we need to cultivate gratitude in our lives? 

1. Being grateful is God’s will for us:

 

 «In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you»(1 Thessalonians 5:18).

 Doing the will of God is very important for us because it gives us assurance in God and makes God’s grace and favour available for us. Jesus said about His life: 

 «Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God’» (Hebrews, 10:7).

 We should follow Jesus’ example and devote our lives to the doing of God’s will. «In everything give thanks!» is God’s commandment. Being obedient to this commandment is much better than any sacrifice that we could bring to God. Obedience to His commandments is the best sacrifice and offering we can ever bring to Him:«So Samuel said:  

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams”” (1 Samuel, 15:22).

 

2. Gratitude keeps the channel of God’s favour open in our lives:

 

 «Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them up» (Psalm, 28:5).

 Until you start thanking God for all the blessings God has given you, you won’t be qualified to receive more. Thus the lack of gratitude closes the door for God’s mercy. 

3. Gratitude makes our mind clear and opens up our understanding. In order for us to be able to receive new insights from God, we must actively and constantly practise the art of thanksgiving:

 

 «Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened» (Romans, 1:21).

 Being ungrateful causes human mind to be darkened and also stops his development. Further down this passage of Scripture talks about other consequences of it in the lives of people. 

« Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonour their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due» (Romans, 1: 21-27).

 Lack of gratitude closes human mind and leads to deceit. We know what the wages of deceit are: * futility (verse 22); * idol worship (verse 23); * life of lust and uncleanness (verse 24); * false teaching and false interpretation of God’s Word(verse 25); * perversity (verses 25-26); You see the effect of being ungrateful. That is why it is so important to speak about it. Tomorrow we will continue discussing the importance of gratitude in our lives. May God abundantly bless every one of you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye