Colossians 1:10 - 12 “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life. The final outworking of the Spirit that Colossians speaks of is joyfully giving thanks. To me this is interesting because saying thank you and saying it from a heart of gratitude are very different.
You can see this truth in children and hear it in their tone of voice. Thankfulness comes from a heart of gratitude. Give a gift to a child that doesn’t have much and you will hear gratitude. On the other hand give a gift to one that has everything and you may get a “gee, thanks”
An attitude of gratitude needs to be cultivated in our lives. I Thessalonians 5: 16 and 17 says, “Be joyful always: pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. This is an interesting statement. It’s not saying, “If you feel like it be joyful”. It says be joyful always! That means we have a choice. I know this is true in my life. There are days when I don’t feel much joy and I have to make a decision. Am I going to let self-pity lure me into “feeling” depressed or am I going to choose life and be joyful?
The way to be joyful is to give thanks. We have SO much to be thankful for. When we do that we are saying, “God, you are bigger than my problems and you are in control. Your love never fails and so I give you thanks.”
Thanksgiving coming from a joyful heart does please the Lord in every way. Do a check up from the neck up and if you have forgotten to give thanks say, “Sorry Lord, please forgive me”. Then give thanks because He is a loving God, gracious and compassionate. He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints. For that we are very grateful and so we give thanks!
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life. The final outworking of the Spirit that Colossians speaks of is joyfully giving thanks. To me this is interesting because saying thank you and saying it from a heart of gratitude are very different.
You can see this truth in children and hear it in their tone of voice. Thankfulness comes from a heart of gratitude. Give a gift to a child that doesn’t have much and you will hear gratitude. On the other hand give a gift to one that has everything and you may get a “gee, thanks”
An attitude of gratitude needs to be cultivated in our lives. I Thessalonians 5: 16 and 17 says, “Be joyful always: pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”. This is an interesting statement. It’s not saying, “If you feel like it be joyful”. It says be joyful always! That means we have a choice. I know this is true in my life. There are days when I don’t feel much joy and I have to make a decision. Am I going to let self-pity lure me into “feeling” depressed or am I going to choose life and be joyful?
The way to be joyful is to give thanks. We have SO much to be thankful for. When we do that we are saying, “God, you are bigger than my problems and you are in control. Your love never fails and so I give you thanks.”
Thanksgiving coming from a joyful heart does please the Lord in every way. Do a check up from the neck up and if you have forgotten to give thanks say, “Sorry Lord, please forgive me”. Then give thanks because He is a loving God, gracious and compassionate. He has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints. For that we are very grateful and so we give thanks!
