Yesterday, we shared that the scriptures teach that Gratitude is a fruit and must be cultivated.
Let’s look at that verse one more time:
Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified version)
“Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifuce of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name”
Today, let me share a forth truth about gratitude and thankfulness:
Gratitude counters ingratitude and complaining! One is either grateful or ungrateful. You can’t be both at the same time. However, it is in most people’s nature to be ungrateful and mostly complain about things when they don’t go their way.
Dr. Dale Robbins once wrote, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives.” Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.”
In Moses’ day, Israel complained about not having any meat to eat, and many died because of their complaints (Numbers 11, Numbers 14).
In 1 Corinthians 10: 10 & 11, it says: “And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”
1 Peter 4:9 says: “Be hospitable to one another without complaining.”
When we are grateful, we acknowledge God’s goodness, and reject our fleshly tendencies of greed, avarice, ingratitude and unquenchable lust for things. Some people are never satisfied. They always want more, and because of that, they always end up miserable and dissatisfied in life. We need to learn to SEE what God has provided and what He is doing, instead of always focusing on the negative things. Once one makes that shift, one will see that God has provided more than one can ever realize. He is truly the Lord, our Provider! Be like the former leper, whom the Lord Jesus healed He came back with gratitude and gave thanks!
