The Mystery and the Power of the Spirit of Gratitude or Thanksgiving

Because the spirit of thanksgiving is so important and influential in His people’s lives, the Lord uses many avenues to teach and compel them into this application. From the first book of the Bible to the last one, the message of being thankful and generous is clearly expressed, just like what Prophet Isaiah prophesied, saying, “So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there” (Isa. 28:13 NLT). When men and women of God know the power that dwells in the spirit of thanksgiving and in being generous, we will spend all our time not murmuring, complaining, and faultfinding but thanking God the Father for everything in Jesus’s name (Eph. 5:20) and practicing generosity.

Furthermore, any nation, family, or individual who commits these three sins—holding the truth captive, rejecting natural revelation and worshiping creatures instead of the Creator, and rejecting the knowledge of God—will receive these three consequences. God will give them up to uncleanness, vile passions, and depraved minds. Man is pleased to use God’s gifts and benefit from them but is unwilling to worship and thank Him for them. The result is an empty mind and a darkened heart. Man, who should be a worshiper and philosopher, becomes a philosopher without being a worshiper and a vehicle for Satan to ride and destroy another human being. He transforms into an arrogant, foolish man. His empty human wisdom only reveals his foolishness. Jesus is the only one who can deliver a person from this demonic spirit.

Let’s embrace the Word and the knowledge of God as the most valuable treasure and be thankful for everything He pours on us then and now in Christ so that we can escape the judgment reserved for Satan and his unclean angels (Matt. 25:41). As a result, we will bring our families and neighbors, one by one, to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

-- Rev. Drs. Celestin Ben and Ginette Joseph