Devotional – ‘Characterised by Thanks’ (04 Feb 2018)

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20 ESV)

Is your life characterized by an attitude of gratitude?

The Spirit-filled man or woman is characterized by gratitude. They are always giving thanks to God the Father for all things. He or she can cope with unanswered prayer, with bad news, with totally unexpected events.

David could cope with the valley of the shadow of death; he could cope with a table spread in the presence of his enemies because God was with him.

Job could cope with personal grief almost unbearable: the death of his children, the loss of health, and the bitterness of his wife. “The Lord gave and the Lord took away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Paul was chained to a soldier in prison facing a very uncertain future, and yet he could say that he had learned in whatever state he was in to be contented. Spirit-filled men can cope with loneliness, imprisonment, hunger, the absence of books, and hearing nothing but bad news from beloved churches. Here he writes so awesomely, “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.20).

Is your life characterized by an attitude of gratitude?

Photo by Alex Woods on Unsplash

Photo by Alex Woods on Unsplash

In other words, there will be always something for which to give thanks to God. In the worst of all circumstances, you must crane your eyes and take out your binoculars and search the horizon. You will find some things, even many things, for which to thank God, even if it is only to thank him for where you are not today.

The Spirit-filled man or woman is fearless, resigned, contented, and more than that, he or she is thankful always and in all things. “Every day will I bless you. Every day will I praise your name.”