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

  • We have to be ready to go wherever God sends us to

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    As we concluded yesterday, we have to become obedient disciples, so that our families, our church and our towns can be stirred. God uses obedient disciples to fulfil His prophesies and restore His will on Earth. Even more, we have to be ready to go wherever God sends us to. Thus we can fulfil our calling. Obedience to call begins with obedience to short instructions God gives to us through His word and our leaders in Christ.It´s also important to know that Jesus knows everything, He possesses all hidden information, necessary for our mission. That´s why obedience to the Lord who knows everything is vitally important! When Jesus had a need for a donkey to ride upon to Jerusalem, He knew where to find the animal. He knew where to go and find that donkey. He knew how to bring that donkey to Him.

  • Your surrounding has an impact on you, it determines whether you enter the destiny God has prepared for you or you don´t II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Jesus as our Model made friends based on his or her willingness to do God´s will. His never chose friends just because a certain person was a relative or a stranger, poor or rich, a law teacher or a sinner. Those who desired to do God´s will were “a brother, a sister and a mother” to Him. In opposite case Jesus only tried to help such person to understand the purpose of his life and unite him or her with the Creator while those who wanted to do God´s will in their life became His best friends.

  • The changes must start with us

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    «When I was young my imagination did not know any boundaries. And I wanted to change the whole world. In time I realized that I wouldn’t be able to change the world, so I tried to change my country. When I realized that I wouldn’t be able to change the country, I concentrated on changing my city. But I couldn’t change my city either. So, when I had grown older, I tried to change my family. Now when I am an old man waiting to cross over to the other side I have understood that the only one I could change was me. Suddenly I realized that if I had worked on changing myself I would have been able to really affect my family and then my family and I could have affected the city. Through the changes in the city we could have changed the country and the world”.

  • Prayer is petitioning God and receiving from Him II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Prayer is one of the ways to find out the will of God. Why did Jesus say that He did nothing but what He saw His Father do? Why did Jesus pray? Why did He do what He did? Because He sought the will of God in prayer and received the revelation of God’s will.Let’s look at Moses. God gave Moses the law; God told him to deal with the nation according to it. But while the nation of Israel was in desert Moses faced different situation that were not described in the law.

  • The level of our faith depends on our ability to hear from God

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 6 minutes
    When we hear the Lord’s voice it strengthens us and takes disorder and confusion out of our lives. When we hear the Lord’s voice it awakens in us the spirit of faith and raises us up into God’s dimension.Let’s look at some verses of Scripture that tell us about the benefits of hearing God’s voice and being led by the Spirit.

  • Do not focus of what you do not have; simply go ahead and use what you have! II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    God gives to us gifts according to our ability, so He does not call us to do the thigs we are not able to. If God has asked you to do something, it is only because He knows you are able to do it. He won’t give you more than you are able to bear. Simply use what you have.I once read a story about a woman who built a school for the needy. Before she began this, a desire was born in her heart to do it. It became her dream that she was thinking of consistently. At that moment she did not have a thing: no textbooks, no teachers, no building, and no money. But she did have a tremendous desire to fulfil her dream.