Why Choose Gratitude?

Chapter Four of Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Gratitude unleashes the freedom to live content in the moment, rather than being anxious about the future or regretting the past.  ~ Ellen Vaughn

• Gratitude is a matter of obedience.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Colossians 3:17

• Gratitude draws us close.

“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving…”

Psalm 95:2

• Gratitude is a sure path to peace.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

• Gratitude is a gauge of the heart.

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name…”

Psalm 140:13

• Gratitude is the will of God.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

I Thessalonians 5:18

• Gratitude is an evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

See Ephesians 5:18-21

• Gratitude reflects Jesus’ heart.

Jesus had a spirit of gratitude, even in the face of suffering.  Nancy writes, “He gave Himself to God and to the world, not under coercion, but with abandon and… with gratitude, grateful for the privilege of obeying His Father and of fulfilling the mission He had been sent to earth to complete.”

• Gratitude gets us ready for heaven.

“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty…”

Revelation 11:16-17