Discipleship Devotional, January 4th, 2025
“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.”
– Psalms 107:21-22 (KJV)
As children of God, we always have cause to ponder the love, graciousness, and faithfulness of God. But it will always take deliberateness for anyone to be thankful to God. Some think thanksgiving flows naturally for human beings. That’s not true. The Bible speaks of our fallen nature as being unthankful and ungrateful (Romans 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:2).
We see this evidenced in the children of Israel and how they kept grumbling to Moses, forgetting each of the mighty wonders God performed.
If you think you will only start thanking God when the big miracles happen, you will be shocked. Jesus healed ten lepers, and only one came back with gratitude. That healing was a complete turnaround of their lives, yet they forgot gratitude.
The truth is, if you are grateful in the little things, you will be grateful in the big things. If you are ungrateful for the little things, you will also be ungrateful for the big things. This is why scripture discourages comparison—not only because it promotes jealousy and envy but because it makes us unsatisfied with what God has done for us.
For some of us, when we hear the testimonies of others, we then despise our own testimonies. No! The benevolence of our God in giving us Christ is enough for us to sing in gratitude for all eternity. We must always focus on this.
There is also a wise saying: “It’s the person that does not think that is ungrateful.” This means we must be deliberate in counting our blessings, naming them one by one. It will truly surprise you what God has done.
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