I recently read a devotional from Greg Laurie talking about ingratitude.
Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.—Romans 1:21
A man who was nailing down a loose shingle on a roof lost his footing and began to slip. Working three stories above ground, he was terrified at the thought of falling to his death. He started shouting, "God, help me! I'm falling! Do something!" Just as he came to the edge of the roof, his belt loop caught on a nail and stopped him long enough to grab hold again.
He shouted, "It's okay, God! I got caught on a nail."
That is how we can be. We cry out to God. He answers our prayers. Then we say, "It's okay, God! Everything seemed to work out."
But do we ever stop and think that God might have worked through certain circumstances to come to our rescue? My point is, we need to put as much zeal in thanking God for what He has done as we put into pleading with God when we are in need.
I heard about a hospital chaplain who kept a record of some two thousand patients whom he had visited, all who seemed to be in a dying condition and showed signs of repentance. Among those restored to health, he felt that only two showed a marked change in their spiritual lives after their recovery. In other words, when these people thought they would die, they repented. But when they recovered, they forgot about God.
What would you think of a person who always wanted things from you but never offered a word of thanks in return? We can be that way with God, can't we? Let's remember to thank Him.
https://www.harvest.org/devotions-and-blogs/daily-devotions/2014-04-09
I am looking forward to Encounter this Friday with a “Thankful Heart.” We are going to be resuming our prayer series with a talk titled, “Thank You.” If we forget to pray “Thank You” prayers we can start to spiral out of control. We can lose perspective on important things and ultimately lose our way. Gratitude and being thankful in our prayers and in our lives is the pathway to God’s favor and blessing.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night at Encounter, WHERE HOPE CAN BE FOUND!
Be Blessed, Encouraged, and Thankful!
Bill Rieser
Encounter Pastor
bill@thehopeencounter.org