Nina Smit

Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to Him. Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous ... Let your lives overflow with thankfulness.

~ Colossians 2:6-7

The fourth requirement in this text that Paul underlines for the believers in Colosse is that they must be filled with gratitude. It is interesting that it doesn’t say in the New Testament that we must thank one another. Only God should be thanked. In the time when Jesus was on earth, people were dependent on one another. One day you helped your family members or friends and the next day they helped you. The children in God’s family needn’t thank each other either. All the thanks and recognition for what we manage to do belongs to God. Henri Nouwen calls thankfulness a discipline. We should make up our minds to be consciously thankful for everything we receive from God.

Are you thankful toward God, or do you still take all His gifts for granted? God asks you to let your life overflow with thankfulness toward Him. “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). Hence you should also be thankful for those things you would have wanted to be different. Ask that God will make it possible for you.

Heavenly Father, forgive my ungratefulness. Please fill me now with the thankfulness that comes from You. Amen