The Lamp
Biblical teachings and tools geared to help you have, and enjoy, a full spiritual life in Christ.
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In this series, you and I will be discussing the Biblical benefits of gratitude. This study will be taken from the book, "Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life."
Throughout this series, together, you and I will look at the immense blessings and benefits of thankfulness as presented by Scripture. And, by the end of this series, you and I will be able to identify some profound benefits of gratitude, as well as come to the conclusion that the intentional and ongoing practice of thanksgiving is an essential spiritual disciple for the Christian life. 
We will be exploring the benefits of gratitude according to Philippians 4:6-7. What we will discover is the promise of peace accompanies the practice of thankfulness. Our inspired text for today states this: "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). In this verse, the command against anxiety is immediately followed by the instruction for practicing "thanksgiving." What's more, in verse 7, the promise peace is given to all those who would include the practice of thankfulness as a spiritual discipline. 
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This is an incredible little promise. When we practice "thanksgiving... the peace of God... will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When practicing thanks as a normal part of our relationship with God (in our prayers and supplications), God promises peace. When you look for opportunity to give thanks, you find occasion to place your attention and your mind back upon God. As is offered in a lot more detail in Dustin's book, the practice of gratitude is the art shifting your focus and your mind off yourself (and your circumstances) and onto the goodness of the Lord. This concept is reinforced by Romans 8:6. It says, "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." And, again in Isaiah 26:3, it promises, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You..." The diligence to practice thankfulness is truly an essential practice to experiencing a full spiritual life. The art of gratitude is to force the mind off self and back onto our Savior. For more information on the Biblical benefits of gratitude, I highly recommend Dustin Dahlin's book, Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life.
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In this article, I will be discussing the Biblical benefits of gratitude. This study will be taken from the book, Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life. Throughout this series, I will present the immense blessings and benefits of thankfulness as presented by Scripture. And, by the end of this series, you and I will be able to identify some profound benefits of gratitude, as well as come to the conclusion that the intentional and ongoing practice of thanksgiving is an essential spiritual disciple for the Christian life. 
Let us explore 1 Thessalonians 5:18-19. From this Passage, we will identity how the practice of thankfulness places one in the will of God, and how it is a practice that enable to the believer to better "walk in the Spirit." Let us take a look at 1 Thess. 5:18-19... "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:18-19). This little string of verses in 1 Thessalonians is incredibly deep. In the first session in this series, we discovered that the practice of gratitude directly combats the flesh. It is diametrically opposed to our sinful and fallen nature. You and I learned that being intentional and active to give thanks helps to defeat the inherent torments of the flesh so that we can better experience the heights of the spiritual life in Christ. In this Passage, we discover something equally fascinating. Check this out: "this passage illustrates how thankfulness not only stifles the lusts of the flesh, but it is one of the ways believers walk in the Spirit. This passage (1Thess. 5:12-28) was inspired to follow a pattern similar to an ancient Hebrew Chiasm. They are similar in that repetitious imperatives are communicated with a central point being the main emphasis of the whole section. In short, we are to understand that verse nineteen ('Do not quench the Holy Spirit') is the glue that holds this passage together, and it is the prominent motif of these sixteen verses. This means that verse nineteen is the premise through which all other verses in that section are to be understood and interpreted" (excerpt from Militant Thankfulness). 
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So what does that mean to you and me?! This means that practicing thankfulness better enables the believer to "walk in the Spirit." According to this Passage, "giving thanks in all circumstances" helps to keep from quenching the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us (and through us). You see... the practice of thanksgiving can be understood as the action of seeking opportunity to thank God. This is important because it helps to move the mind off ourselves and our situations and onto our Savior. As we seek opportunities to thank and praise God, we find ourselves more and more sensitive to His presence and His counsel. For more information on this topic, you can check out the other articles in this series. You can, also, consider purchasing Dusty's book, Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life. I highly recommend it!
In this article, I will be discussing the Biblical benefits of gratitude. This study will be taken from the book, "Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life."
Throughout this series, I will be presenting the immense blessings and benefits of thankfulness as presented by Scripture. And, by the end of this series, you and I will be able to identify some profound benefits of gratitude, as well as come to the conclusion that the intentional and ongoing practice of thanksgiving is an essential spiritual disciple for the Christian life. 
We will be starting with Ephesians 5:3-4 for an inspired look at the first benefit to the practice of thankfulness; we will discover that thankfulness is diametrically opposed to the flesh. Let's take a look… Ephesians 5:3-4 says, "But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead…" This little verse is fascinating! I would have thought that this verse would conclude by listing the antithetical behaviors to the sinful ones listed. In other words (rather than sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking), I would have imagined that this would give the opposite behaviors of abstinence, purity, contentment, spiritual cleanliness, and wholesome speech. Or at least something along those lines… some behaviors that would directly combat the sinful, flesh-driven ones. But I would have been wrong! Take a look at this Passage with me, again.
"But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving!" Whoah! What a cool little verse. This is saying that "thanksgiving" directly combats the inherent, sinful tug of the flesh. This means that our fallen nature, our inherent depravity, the human condition that regularly attempts to draw us away from God is thwarted by the practice of gratitude. It should become obvious from this Passage that the practice of thankfulness is a spiritual discipline. It is a means of grace by which we can partner with the Holy Spirit in placing our flesh in submission to the Lordship of Christ. Wow... What a concept! How incredible to know that something as simple as the regular and intentional practice of gratitude will help the Believer combat the tug of the flesh and traverse the heights of the spiritual life. Being diligent to practice a fiercely active thankfulness is one of the ways by which we can begin to live a full spiritual life. A Militant thankfulness is diametrically opposed to the flesh. It is a means by which we can begin to experience the full joys of the Christian life. For more on this topic, I recommend reading my other articles in this Militant Thankfulness series. Also, I would encourage you to consider buying Dusty's Book, "Militant Thankfulness: An Essential Practice to Experiencing a Full Spiritual Life." |
Dusty DahlinMarried with two boys, Dusty is dedicated to his family, the Church were he pastors, and the life-long pursuit of knowing God more fully. There is nothing Dusty loves more than serving God by helping others understand the treasures of Scripture. Archives
September 2023
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