Why do we need to cultivate gratitude in our lives

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
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).
 
  1. 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. 
  1. 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

Similar Posts

  • Let God do His work in your life. There is only good in Him!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    God was following His goal – to change His prophet character. God also wants to change me and you. To accomplish this goal He would allow serious problems in our life, if necessary. God can destroy things that prevent us from changing, because He can easily create the same things again afterwards.

  • Presence of God V

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    God so desires for us to seek Him early in the morning. He so desires for us to return to Him. He wants to heal us and to bind up our wounds. God so wants to revive and restore us, so that we could live before Him. When we seek the Lord, when we seek to know Him, He comes and immerses us into His presence; He pours out His rain on us and waters the earth.Yesterday we talked about how Moses set up a tabernacle outside the camp for all seekers of the Lord. We also saw that instead of entering the tabernacle and seeking the face of the Lord, Israelites were simply observing how Moses spoke to God and how God answered Moses.

  • Follow me and I will make you!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Do you know that you are not all you could be yet? Only the Lord knows who you are created to be and He wants to make you become who you are really created to be. That is why He said “I will make you”.Peter and His brother were created to be Fishers of men, but they did not know that until they started to follow Christ.The bible said they straightway left their nets, and followed him. Their destiny was changed that very day. That was the point the Lord began to make them into who they were created to be.

  • I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    According to the word of God we are already granted everything we need in order to succeed in this life. God has already given us all that we need to have life abundantly. There is no such need in our life God has not taken care for yet. We only have to get to know God and His precious promises, so that we can prevail the lust of this world and fulfil our call from God.«Seeing that his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and virtue; by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.». (2 Peter 1:3-4).

  • What is the highest commandment?

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Once a man asked Jesus: «What is the highest commandment»? Jesus answered that the 1st commandment is to love God; the second – love you neighbour as yourself!When you are moved with compassion and love for people, you do not waste your time on your faults and failures. Your faults shouldn’t stop your ministry. Many people think that they are not ready to serve and minister. But if you have any compassion, you will go and minister to people despite our weaknesses. And we will be saving people.

  • As believers in Christ we should learn to look at ourselves the way God looks at us!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    The God´s word says we are pilgrims and aliens, therefore, do your best to see your selves as such. Doing so we will take after people seeking heavenly home, those who desire not to return to the place they have exited, rather longing for something better, namely, heaven. God is not ashamed of those who are filled with hope of salvation. He is gladly calls Himself their God, for He has prepared a city for them – a shelter to stay in safety during the storm, flood or hunger. God has prepared comfort everlasting and obvious victory for their souls.