Gratitude is the seed of joy. It is
in a higher sphere than simple thanksgiving. Gratitude is more an ongoing
attitude of humility & understood grace than it is a response to a
particular situation, as is joy different & higher than happiness.
Happiness is a response to a sense
of well-being from life operating & turning out as "planned" -
under our control. It doesn't require God's gracious intervention to be happy
when things go according to one's plans. But to have true joy means to live in
an attitude of trusting God & gratitude for all He IS & has already
done, trusting that He will continue to work in our lives, even when all
appearances seem to show the opposite. It is an awareness of His (Supernatural)
peace & well-being when all things start to "fall apart" from the
way WE have planned them. This is why joy is called a "Fruit of the
Spirit" & "happiness" is not.
It is at these very instances when
our natural minds want to "jump ship" & many, sadly, do, but in
doing so, miss out on the very vindication of their faith that they have longed
for. Because if we hang on to our trust in God when we don't FEEL it, with
gratitude, we come to experience the "peace that passes
understanding" & our Lord's faithfulness displayed in our lives in a
way we could never have imagined as part of our own small plans for ourselves.
It also builds trust, humility, gratitude & a deeper understanding of God's
grace & love better than any book or sermon ever could!
In his book The Screwtape Letters,
the senior demon, Screwtape, in speaking to his nephew & underling demon,
Wormwood, lectures him on the spiritual danger (from a demonic position,
obviously) that occurs (so think of the opposite from God's perspective when he
says): "Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer
desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a
universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, & asks why
he has been forsaken, & still obeys." (Screwtape Letters, p. 40). This
describes the believer that is experiencing what the "saints of old"
referred to as "the dark night of the soul." It speaks of a period of
time (that happens to all believers from time to time) in which we can't feel God's presence & see only
bleakness around us. Yet, in the case of believers who have come to know &
trust their Lord's ultimate goodness & wonderful plans for them, they can see no good around them yet still
follow Him. This is when the enemy of our soul - Satan & his hordes - feel
like their cause is most desperate & a reason for us to rejoice! God & His angels certainly
are, & we will, too, if we keep going and do not give up!
A heart of gratitude, overflowing to
worship, will increase our sense of hope & optimism based on the goodness
of God, not what we see with our earthly eyes. An amazing road!
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