THE BLESSING FOUND IN GRATITUDE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 4:14-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I’ve come to hold to a simple adage in life. It goes like this:

After the words “I love you”, the next important words are “thank you”.

It’s true, you know. Every day, someone will do something for us and each instance this happens is an opportunity to express our gratitude.

You go to the store and are served by someone like a check out cashier. Take the time to thank them for what they do.

If someone does something courteous for you like open a door to allow you to enter before them, take the time to show you’re grateful for what they’ve done.

If a person sends you a text or message of encouragement, show your thanks and let them know how they have lifted up your spirits.

Even if a person hasn’t done anything in particular for you, there’s never a bad time to tell them how much you appreciate and give thanks for them.

As we look at our scripture passage for today, the next to last message from this study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we find the Apostle Paul displaying the blessing found in expressing gratitude at the end of chapter 4. Look again at his words here:

Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Vv. 14-20

In the verses leading up to this passage, Paul shared that he had learned the secret of being content, regardless of his circumstances. He testified that he had gone through times in his life where he was in great need while living in plenty in other times. Whether in good times or bad, the Apostle proclaimed that he could do all things through Christ who gave him the strength to endure. This is how he made it through thick and thin and how we will today as well as Christian believers.

As we turn to verse 14, we see Paul quickly pivot to make sure his brothers and sisters in Philippi didn’t see him as an ingrate. Yes, he had learned that he could do all things through Jesus and the strength He provided but the Apostle was still very thankful for the way the Philippians had given to him as well. In fact, they had been the only church who had sent missionary support to him. We read where this support came to him in at least two instances.

The first was when Paul was working in Thessalonica during his second missionary journey. While there, the Christian believers in Philippi sent him “aid more than once” while he was in need. Through this, we’re reminded that many missionaries today rely on the support of others to be able to have their needs met as they seek to bring the Gospel to the unsaved.

The second instance of Paul receiving gifts from his brother and sisters in Philippi came while he was in the very Roman prison where he wrote this letter. The scriptures tell us the Apostle received “ample” supply through the gifts sent by the Philippians via Epaphroditus who served as a delegate for the Philippian believers.

Note how Paul so eloquently and elegantly expresses his gratitude through praise for the Christians in Phillip. He calls their provision a “fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God”. The Apostle wanted his brothers and sisters in Philippi to know that God was just as happy as he was with what was given. Indeed, the Lord gives thanks when we act in ways that are pleasing in His sight and often He sends His blessings in return.

This latter truth is something Paul was confident in as he assured the Philippian Christians that God would meet their needs our of His infinite riches just as they has sacrificed what they had for him.

You see, giving begets giving.

We give with a spirit of thanksgiving for the opportunity to share what the Lord has given us and in turn, the Lord continues to provide for us.

In both instances, we can and should show our gratitude for all the Lord has done, is doing, and will continue to do in our lives. Ultimately, we can and should find ourselves mimicking the very words of Paul as he proclaims:

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com