“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.“ ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬, ‭ESV‬‬. 

Giving thanks to God is a powerful influencer in your life. It reminds you of your blessings. It makes you more optimistic. It even keeps you humble. The goodness of God becomes very evident in times when grateful words are prayed. 

Paul was grateful for something weird, though. He was thankful for the work of others that had nothing to do with himself and did not benefit him personally. He was grateful that others were serving the Lord faithfully. If you sit and think about it, you will see the oddity in that. 

We think gratitude is only being thankful for the good things in our lives, what we are blessed with and by. Paul wasn’t even living with these people, hence the letter. And yet he told them that He was thankful for them. Why?

Paul was so close to God and so into God’s mission that everything done for the glory of God or towards the propagation of that mission was seen as a personal benefit to him. Wow!  That’s like being a fan of a particular sports team and being thankful that others bought tickets and cheered for that team. It was a totally unselfish attitude of gratitude. 

We can learn from that. Let’s try and be thankful for the praise, honor, worship, and service that others are giving to God. The act will keep our eyes off of ourselves and on to the glory and mission of God. 

Your prayer:

“God, there are so many that love and serve you. Thank you for the times you have made me aware of it. Please strengthen them for that work today. We love you, Jesus. Amen.”

👂4️⃣🫵 - Pastor Mike