Some spontaneous thoughts this evening.

Tonight we listened to a talk on happiness. The speaker made a strong statement: without gratitude you cannot have happiness. He went on to add that gratitude is the source of both happiness and goodness.

I believe this is biblically true. “Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God us….” ( I Thes. 5:18). If we are not grateful, we become complainers, we are always looking for more, always dissatisfied with what we have, just as the Israelites were in the wilderness.

Out of this ingratitude flows greed, strife, anger, broken relationships and more. This greed and discontent may be low level and in the background, but it will color everything. This is what see at work in our country today.

To be grateful leads to praise in all things. Why? Because we are grateful for our good God who is in control, who has a plan, who is leading us on, whether it be through difficulty, sickness, disappointment or loss.

As we are grateful for Him, we are led to be grateful for the wonderful blessings he has given us: we are redeemed, forgiven, children of the King, members of His Kingdom, brothers and sisters to Christ.

We are destined for eternity and in the meantime have a meaningful, purposeful life where God has given us significant work to do.

He has provided for us all we need for life and godliness, given us His Holy Spirit, provided what we need for our everyday spiritual warfare, and enables us to be more than conquerors.

What is there not to be grateful for? Everything else pales in importance. To practice gratefulness will bring us what we really want: happiness, joy and goodness flowing out of us.