For Christians, thankfulness is not just a polite gesture or a social convention. It is an essential part of our faith. The Bible is filled with verses that emphasise the importance of gratitude and thankfulness, and many Christian traditions include prayers and songs of thanksgiving.
In this episode of Turning Point, Dr David Jeremiah reminds us that it’s natural to reflect on the many blessings that God has brought into our lives. In fact, abundant thankfulness should flow from the Christian life quite naturally.
In the midst of the craziness that’s going on around us in our world today, we as believers still have so much for which to be thankful. If we focus our heads and hearts on that, the rest of it won’t seem so bad. If we look up, we see in God how He has blessed us.
The Importance of a Grateful Heart
‘The Bible speaks very strongly about the importance of a grateful spirit,’ says David. ‘But it may surprise you that the Bible often and very carefully links the spirit of gratitude with victory in the Christian experience.’
We are told this twice in the New Testament. Once in 1 Corinthians 15:57, where we read thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And again in 2 Corinthians 2:14, thanks be to God who gives us triumph in Christ. Have you ever thought about the fact that a grateful spirit and triumph in your Christian life go together?
‘Gratitude is one of the evidences that God is in us and that He is working,’ says David. ‘Because in the world today, there are so many reasons to be ungrateful. But if the Spirit of God is in us, that’s the supernatural element of our lives and it’s the spirit of God in us that enables us to have victory, even in the midst of our situations and our circumstances.’
‘A spirit of thanksgiving should be true of all of us if we know Jesus Christ, and if God’s Holy Spirit is in control of our lives.’
