“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
-2 Corinthians 8:9
The legend is told of a man who found the barn where Satan kept seeds to be sown in the human heart. It quickly became obvious that most numerous seed in his arsenal were the seeds of “discouragement”. When he inquired as to why this was so, his guide told him it was because the seeds of “discouragement” could grow almost anywhere. The word “almost” intrigued the man. When he pressed for a further explanation the guide reluctantly told him there was one place were the seeds of discouragement would never grow. “And where is that?’ asked the man. The guide sadly replied, “In the heart of a grateful man.”
Discouragement is one of Satan’s most powerful tools in the life of a Christian. A church filled with discouraged Christians soon loses its’ sense of vision and ministry in the larger community. Without vision nothing of significance is ever accomplished for the Kingdom of God. Maintaining an attitude of gratitude is essential to our effectiveness, both as individuals and as a congregation.
We may be living in tough economic times, but we still have an abundance of things for which to be grateful. Our commitment to ministry, the expansion of our church facilities, or our vision for the future should never be based on what we “don’t have”, but rather in gratitude for what we already enjoy!
If we really stop to think about it, we are an incredibly blessed people. God has already given us far more than we need or deserve. Like the old hymn suggests, we would all be amazed if we would “count our blessings.”The natural response of anyone taking such an inventory is to want to give something back.
Effective ministries are always financed by gratitude. Coercion, guilt, obligation and pressure never really work. Effective ministry grows out of the fertile soil of a grateful heart. Satan’s seeds of discouragement can’t take root there, but God’s seeds of generosity and sacrifice always do. That’s why money is never a problem in the church that is filled with grateful people! I wonder, what’s the soil condition of our hearts telling us?
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