Grateful 4

Devotional Reading: Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Hebrews 13:15 AMP

Gratitude is contagious and blesses everyone around us, and it helps others to be grateful; but there is a cost to living a life of gratitude. Many Scriptures talk about sacrifices of thanksgiving. Psalm 50:14 says, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving”, and in verse 23, God says “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me.”

It’s easy to be grateful and thankful when everything is going our way, but what about when everything is falling apart around us? Philippians 4:4 tells us “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

We might give a sigh of relief, and say “at least we don’t have to give thanks “for” all things, but Ephesians 5:20 eliminates that loophole by declaring “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This all is only possible as we keep our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3), remembering that He is the source of everything good in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Jesus is our source of gratitude, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy and abounding gratitude.

Are we willing to pay the cost to live in absolute beauty, even in this sin-sick world? If it has been done, it is probably possible – and it has been done over and over! It involves 100% commitment to Jesus Christ. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.

Prayer and Confession
Thank you Jesus for your never ending love. I am committed to expressing my thanks to you even when things do not seem to Go my way.

Further Reading: 1Thessalonians 5:17, Psalm 50