Gratitude requires a listening heart.
To achieve it you’ll need the ability to discern God’s will and appreciate God’s goodness and grace, no matter what you face.
All that comes out of two things, which I discussed in my previous reflections:
Read this scripture,
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Gratitude comes out of understanding the will of God
In the above scripture, Paul (the author of this letter), states what God’s will is for us all in Christ Jesus.
From the passage, you clearly see that the will of God is:
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- We rejoice always.
- We pray continually.
- We give thanks in all circumstances.
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Notice that all the verbs ~ rejoice, pray, and give thanks ~ are accompanied by an adverb, which implies how we should practice these three things.
Before delving into a discussion of each of these three tasks, let’s first talk about the “will” of God.
A will means a desire or a wish. But, it also stands for a testament or a plan that the one writing it wishes how the testament will come into effect for the beneficiaries.
[bctt tweet=”You and I are the beneficiaries of God’s testament. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
Every testament becomes effective only after the death of the one who wrote it.
Read this scripture about God’s testament (will) for us all in Christ,
In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it because a will is in force only when somebody has died. Hebrews 9:16-17.
God’s will has provided us with what we need to rejoice, pray, and give thanks!
God’s will makes us grateful, and which should always be our way of life. It is a mark of Christian leadership that God would like us to display every day.
Rejoice always
[bctt tweet=”To rejoice always is a choice you’ve got to make every single day. It doesn’t change the reality of what you’re going through. Nor does it change the impact of it on you. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
Choosing to rejoice always changes you and your feelings. It transforms your response to what’s happening to you.
To rejoice also means:
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- You choose to be glad.
- You choose to feel great joy, happiness, and delight.
- You choose to show great joy, happiness, and delight.
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Pray continually
Joy comes out of a sound body, mind, and spirit. Having an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ helps you achieve that.
In other words, joy results from the experience of growing in Jesus Christ.
Here are three approaches to prayer:
Prayer means an exchange. You bring to Christ all of your burdens (worries, fears, etc.), and Jesus gives you rest for your soul in exchange (read Matthew 11:28-29).
Prayer is an offering. Through prayer, not only you offer yourself back to God. You also surrender to God and God’s will.
Prayer is an interaction with the reality of who God is. This interaction changes you into more like Christ.
Give thanks in all circumstances
When you look at the phrase “give thanks” in the original text (Greek), it stands for two words: “good” and “grace.”
To give thanks, therefore, means:
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- You acknowledge God’s goodness.
- You acknowledge God’s grace.
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In all circumstances, there is always something that requires your attention.
So, choosing to rejoice always and pray continually will enable you to give thanks to God for everything that happens to you.
Bringing it together
Whether what you’re going through right now is bad or good, the choice to rejoice, pray, and give thanks is always yours to make.
When you do so, not only you fulfill God’s will for you, but you change the way you interact with your surroundings for the better. You eventually live a very blessed and happy life filled with a lot of gratitude!
