Benefits Of Gratitude

Benefits of Gratitude

Thankfulness glorifies God

This alone would be reason to give thanks to God. To bring glory to God is an amazing accomplishment. Our true thankfulness does exactly that… it is not about talking about the blessings as much as it is about the one who gives the blessings… Think of it this way… Our gratitude glorifies God as we exalt not the gifts, but the Giver. It is great to get the exact present you wanted for Christmas but when you realize how much someone loves you to get that for you… it is your gratitude to the giver that matters more than the excitement over the gift. Gratitude helps us realize all we have comes not because of us, but from God.

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 2 Corinthians 4:15

I am telling you that there is power in being a thankful person. To recognize just how amazing our God is and all that He does for us. And can I tell you something? God has everything already; there is not a possession or gift that you give Him that He does not already have. If you had to buy a present for God just imagine how tough of a job that would be. But what you can give Him, and it has value and meaning is your thankfulness for your life, for His hand upon you, for His strength… and when you can truly see all that He has does and offer Him sincere thanks from your heart it brings Him glory. Now that is something worth giving to God.

Thankfulness helps us see God.

You need to get this… you need this… it might just be that you are a bit spoiled and a tad ungrateful in life and perhaps you just might take some things for granite. So, do not dismiss this… look to learn, to be taught, to be changed. The thing about being truly thankful is that it opens our spiritual eyes. In the Lion King movie they talk about the circle of life… one thing leads to another and to another. Well in being thankful, having a sincerely grateful heart it puts many things in motion. One of the beautiful thing about the cycle of thankfulness is this… The more we thank Him, the more we see Him working in us and around us. Gratitude helps us sense God’s presence, His personal care and His perfect timing.

16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:16-17

Pay attention here… WHATEVER is good and perfect is a gift coming down from our Father… Being truly thankful to God for the ALL of the blessings in life helps us to see the hand of God working in our life. Our truly thankful hearts helps us to see the workings of the Father in our life. So look at the importance of being grateful already… our thankful hearts bring glory to the Father and it helps us to see the Father at work in our lives. Those two reasons alone should move us to realize the importance of being grateful to God but guess what? There are even more benefits for a grateful heart.

Having Thankful Hearts puts us squarely in God’s will.

Now think about this. So many times we pray for the will of God to be revealed to us, so we do not make a mistake, that we do not miss God and His Word makes it clear as rain. We are simply to be thankful and give thanks in all circumstances. We often make God’s will out to be some big, mystical plan when sometimes, it’s simply obedience. And part of His will for us is to be thankful, not just on the sunny days but on the hard ones as well.

…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

So, why be thankful? Because it is the will of God for our lives. In fact, you might say, to not be thankful is to step directly out of the will of the Father. Isn’t it amazing just how important that being thankful is? Now keep it all together… being thankful brings the glory to God… Being thankful enables us to see the hand of God upon our lives… Being thankful is vital to being in the Will of the father. It isn’t just one of those things… you do not get to choose the importance of it. So, the month of November is really more vital than you might have thought. It is more than just having good manners…