Title: Thankful Spirituality
Contents
Bible: Philippians 4:1-7 Title: Spirituality of Thanksgiving
The Apostle Paul is the master of grateful spirituality. Even in prison, the Philippians are teaching them to live a life of joy, thanksgiving, and prayer.
Every person is expressed and manifested in his words and actions according to his spiritual condition. Spirituality is the essence and root of personality. A lack of spirituality always lives with lack and complaints, and a person with a grateful spirituality will live a life of gratitude and positive in everything. Depending on the spirituality of a person, the fruits of life appear.
Gratitude and contentment are the highest peaks along with the moderation of spiritual maturity.
1. Spirituality of Lack
Adam was tempted by the serpent even in a place where there was no shortage and abundance like in the Garden of Eden, and his relationship with God was broken.
“Did God really say to you, You must not eat from all the fruit of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1)
In modern times, there are many people who are concerned, worried, resentful, and complaining about relative poverty amid abundance. Hell is the place where people, like foolish rich people, who lived in abundance without gratitude and satisfaction, enter.
“Hell and fame are not satisfied, neither is the human eye satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). The cause of the lack is spiritual problems that come from not believing in the abundant God as the Father and turning away from it.
As the environment becomes more civilized and modernized, the scarcity increases. Even if you enjoy culture and information through a cell phone in your hand, a car in your foot, and the Internet in your eyes, if you are not satisfied in Jesus Christ, your spirituality will become poor and dry.
Indian saint Gandhi lost a pair of shoes while riding a train. He threw the other shoe away. It was a consideration that someone else gave them their shoes to wear.
2. Spirituality of Gratitude
The Apostle Paul said that he had learned the secret of contentment. I came to know that only when the peace of God in Christ guards our hearts and minds can we be content. How much should we pray? As a prayer of thanksgiving and supplication, Paul prayed until his heart was filled with the peace of God. (Philippians 4:6-7) Some Christians prayed, “Lord, make each day a special day for me.” I prayed.
For those who are grateful, the sun that rises every day is clearly different from yesterday, and every day becomes a special day. I hope that next week's Thanksgiving Sunday will not be an annual event, but will come before God as a special day of thanksgiving in my life. I hope that there will be special thanks and special sharing. In the future, I have to count how many Thanksgiving Sundays and how many times I will go to God.
David praised, “My cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).
In the cup of his heart (soul), the God who created and filled all things was present (Ephesians 1:23), and thanksgiving overflowed from his lips.
The reason that Apostle Paul learned the secret of self-sufficiency was that he was able to maintain peace in his heart because there was a comma called 'prayer of thanks', and God's understanding and peace protected his heart and mind. The spirituality of a grateful person is a mature person. It is the will of God who saved us through Jesus Christ for us to be people to whom we can be thankful for everything. The path to a mature spirituality of gratitude is the secret to a happy life and the essence of a life of faith.
Prayer: Lord! Give thanks every day and let me enjoy abundance. Amen.