And They Were Thankful

The sentence seems out of place surrounded by all the other weighty words.

Wrath of God.

Ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Not glorifying God.

Futile thoughts.

Darkened hearts.

Romans 2:18-22 is a sobering passage. It speaks of God's view of those "...who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

Paul writes of individuals who are without excuse. They know of God, but they choose to not follow the One who has Himself to be clearly seen throughout all of His creation.

Among the words listed above there is a little phrase, "...nor were they thankful" that I believe has great significance.

This passage speaks of becoming "...futile in their thoughts."

Futile is defined as being "incapable of producing any useful result; pointless."

Doesn't this happen when we let gratitude leave our hearts and we succumb to grumbling?

A complaining spirit produces nothing beneficial, while gratefulness lifts us up and gives us the ability to possibly look to the past and what God has accomplished through us before, or look at our present circumstances and, even if events are grim, search for ways to keep our hearts alive as we seek the light.

This is so much more than Pollyanna's "glad game." In addition, thankfulness, especially in times of trouble, is not the absence of seeing reality. Rather, it is choosing to recognize the promises of God.

I want to exercise thankfulness, a muscle that is not natural for me. I don't want to become foolish, too focused on my outward circumstances, that my heart becomes darkened and I can only see hardships. I want to give Jesus every single day a thankful spirit.

God's grace, care, love, and faithfulness is enough to be thankful for each and every day.