By Chaplain (Col) Stephen W. Leonard, USA, Ret.
“6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
The one character trait which directs your heart in the right direction in all of your life is gratitude. A grateful heart is a heart which is continually right with God. You are thankful for who He is and especially who He is to you: Savior, Redeemer, Father, Spirit-Comforter, Rock of Ages!
Gratitude is the one character trait which is at the heart of your relationship with God and with all others. Being grateful at all times, in all places, and in every situation makes all the difference in the world to you being enabled to actually “rejoice in the LORD.”
The grateful person is not sad, mad, or discouraged. In fact, he encourages everyone with whom he comes in contact. The grateful person is the encourager “energizer bunny.” Encouragement is his best gift to others.
If you are not grateful in all things, you do not experience joy; you do not, you cannot, “rejoice in the LORD” in all things and at all times, as Paul expresses over and over in Philippians 4.
It is a hard thing to do. It is a very hard thing to be. In fact, it is impossible to be grateful in all things. This is why Paul promises in Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” You cannot be grateful in all things if you do not find your strength in Christ alone. He makes it possible to be grateful when it is impossible.
In sickness, in strife, in failure, in pain, in disaster, in disappointment, in the troublesome things of life, how can you be grateful? It is the last thing you feel: gratefulness. You want to cry, you want to swear, you want to blame, you want to forget, you want to lash out. But Jesus says the best way to deal with all this is “to be grateful.” And He knows what He is talking about.
On the cross, He was grateful to bear the cup of suffering. Suffering physically, suffering, mentally, suffering in His Spirit. He said, “It is finished!” He was grateful He could complete your salvation.
He said, “Into your hands, I commend My Spirit.” He was grateful to commend His Spirit encouragingly into His Father’s hands as He died on the cross. In ALL things, rejoice and be grateful.
Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful. In fact, the holiday is named after this expression. Thank you, God! For all these good things. And for all the bad. But there are 364 other days in the year to express gratefulness to God first, and to all others second.
Substitute gratefulness in the place of all feelings which come to mind when you are in trouble, when you are sick, when you fail, when the last thing you want to be is grateful. Call on the LORD for His strength, and be grateful! You will rejoice when you are. You will be like Christ. There really is nothing better in life.
Encouragement
“Thank You, LORD, for saving my soul, thank You, LORD, for making me whole, thank You, LORD, for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free.”(Chorus by Seth and Bessie Sykes, 1940)
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