Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - Mar. 15, 2012
Gratitude and Purity
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Do you have an attitude of gratitude? We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” God’s will for us is to give thanks. Notice this verse doesn’t say to give thanks only when things are going well. We are to give thanks no matter how things are going. It is having an attitude that recognizes that God is in control of all circumstances that surround our lives.
This means that we are submitting our will to the will of God, we are trusting that He is in control, and we are giving Him our praise in advance—even before we see an outcome to the problem we are facing.
I am not saying we should give thanks for our problems. But I am saying we should give thanks despite our problems, because God is in control, and He ultimately will sort it out. We have His Word on it. And in the interim, His will for us is to have an attitude of thanksgiving.
It is also God’s will for us to live a pure life. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.” What does “sanctification” mean? It is a word that speaks of holiness and consecration. So God is essentially saying, “I want you to be living a holy life. I want you to be sexually pure.”
This means that if you are single, you don’t have sex. And if you are married, it means that you don’t have sex with anyone other than your spouse. Yet it’s surprising how many people think they are the exception to this rule.
You can’t discern the will of God if you are living an immoral lifestyle or are filled with worry and panic. It starts with obedience to God’s revealed will.
Summary sentence: Do you know that gratitude and purity are important in seeking God’s will?
Tags: Gratitude, God’s will, purity
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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