As I prepared the Thankful Hearts Bible Study Art Journal, I was struck by some new components of what real thanksgiving means. I shared about the Biblical scope of thankfulness in this blog post. But two more concepts surprised me. The first: thankfulness is tied to spiritual victory. The second: thankfulness affects the purity of our soul.[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Thankfulness is an integral piece of personally experiencing spiritual victory.[/pullquote]
On more than one occasion (especially in the Psalms), thankfulness is given with a shout. That same word for shout is also translated in other instances as “battle cry.” As I noticed that trend, I started to wonder about thankfulness and battles. Then I found a story recounting a point in Jewish history where the people were faced with multiple enemies. The prophet Jehoshaphat told the people to put their trust in the Lord and they all began singing, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” (2 Chronicles 20:20-23). The Lord set the enemies against one another and God’s people were saved! While thanking God for His character doesn’t work like rubbing a genie lamp to get things to turn out the way we wish, thankfulness over who God is no matter what is our ultimate battle and victory.
If you think back to Job, Satan’s main goal was to turn Job’s testimony against God. Revelation 12:11 says that “they overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” What we say about God, especially in the face of our enemies, is the real battle! And thankfulness could very well be a key to our victory.
Thankfulness and spiritual purity go hand-in-hand. Nehemiah 12 retells the epic finish of the rebuilding of the walls in Jerusalem. Once the walls were done, the people were going to have a dedication service. So the priests were gathered together and the people were led in a worshipful thanksgiving for all God had done in their midst to get the walls finally finished. The passage then says, “The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates and the wall.” Thanksgiving is tied to the purification of our souls. Something about the way God designed our spirits to worship is called back to center and into purity when we are wholeheartedly thankful.
These two elements of thankfulness have awakened a new awareness in me. I am growing a passion to cultivate thankfulness in my speech because it is a simple, yet profound victory that I want and I know God desires for me. It’s part of experiencing my purpose – to glorify God with thankfulness. And I want my heart to dwell in the purity and peace that comes when I live and breathe gratitude. Not only do I want these things for myself, but I want my family to be defined by them too.[pullquote width=”300″ float=”left”]Thankfulness is one of the few battlegrounds we get choice over, so let’s take it with passion![/pullquote]
So when time pressures me to lose my grip of gratitude, it’s a choice what gets the victory in my story (and in our family) at that moment: thankfulness or momentary stresses? When my disappointment clouds my perspective, it’s a battle for my soul’s purity; I can throw myself on God’s love and faithfulness despite my feelings or let my feelings dethrone my God. As a wife and mom, I think the way we orient our hearts around gratitude could be one of the most defining factors in our home. There’s lots of things we can’t choose, more things we can’t choose than what we can. But this one battleground we get choice over. So let’s take it with passion!
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