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The Power Of Gratitude

How Thankfulness Fuels Spiritual Growth

Since the beginning of the year, I have been preaching through Paul’s letter of 1 Thessalonians. We’ve been taking a pretty deep dive, and examining Paul’s instructions and encouragement in detail. In doing so, I have been struck by the frequency of the concept of thankfulness found in this short letter. It might not be too much of a stretch to say that the notion of gratitude is an underlying theme throughout.

Gratitude

Gratitude is so much more than just a polite “thank you” or a warm feeling after receiving a gift. In the spiritual life, gratitude is a spiritual discipline necessary for transformation. It’s a mindset and an attitude. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians offers a powerful example of how gratitude and thankfulness are not only central to our daily lives, but also an essential ingredient for deep and lasting spiritual growth.

In the first two chapters of Paul’s letter, he expresses an overflowing thankfulness for the Thessalonian believers. And his words are not just warm wishes or a pleasant courtesy. He provides a theological lens through which he interprets their faith and transformation. As I have studied this letter, I have found at least four reasons why gratitude is critical for our spiritual formation.

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Reading The Early Church Fathers

Why Reading The Classics Is Important For Spiritual Formation

Many years ago, I was inspired to read some of the earliest of Christian writers, the early Church Fathers. I set out upon this quest, and purchased a couple of books, Confessions, by Augustine, being the one I wished to start with. As a young and green youth minister, it didn’t take me long to figure out this was hard, and I soon lost interest. Augustine was shelved, and I read more modern fare.

Reading the Early Church Fathers

In 2022, I started work toward a Master of Arts through the newly formed graduate program at Ozark Christian College. As I worked through their Strategic Leadership concentration, Ozark was working to merge with Lincoln Seminary, and soon expanded their program from a single MA to multiple degrees, including a Master of Divinity. Since I was already in the habit of school again (after three decades), I pivoted into the MDiv program after completing the work for the Master of Arts.

This shift in focus required a few courses that I might not have originally pursued, including early church history and Christology. But now that they were needed, they were worked into my program schedule. Little did I know the impact these courses, and their professor, would have on my spiritual trajectory.

The first class was Christology. In that class we were required to read two books from early Church Fathers: On the Unity of Christ, by Cyril of Alexandria, and On the Cosmic Mystery of Christ, by Maximus the Confessor. And just like that, I was hooked.

These two books fanned the flame in my life that was sparked so many years ago with my attempt to read Augustine. I’m not sure whether I had found the right books to begin reading, or if I had grown enough in my spiritual formation to be at a point where I was ready for them. But I devoured these two books and added recommendations from my professor for more to both my wish list and my library.

Christ in the Psalms

Christ In The Psalms by Patrick Henry Reardon (Chesterton, Indiana: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011)

Someone once asked me, if I could only choose one book of the Bible to have access to for the rest of my life, what would it be? That’s a tough question to consider.

My favorite book of the Bible has shifted over the years, but for the last few, I would have to call Paul’s letters to the Corinthians my favorite, and specifically, his second letter. But if I were to be limited to only one book for the rest of my life, that’s probably not the one I would select. That spot would have to go to the book of Psalms.

Psalms really has it all: encouragement and hope. Passages that exhort and teach, and others that correct and rebuke as needed. There are passages that even express some of the darker areas of the psalmist’s heart, and reflect my own as well at times. And there are passages that point to Jesus, such as Psalm 22 or 40 or 8, for example.

But Jesus is evident in more than just a handful of the Messianic Psalms. He is, in fact, to be seen in every single one of the Psalms. That’s the premise of Christ in the Psalms, by Patrick Henry Reardon. To my surprise, he sees evidence of Jesus even in passages I have never thought to associate with Christ, and does so in a very encouraging fashion.

A Soul's House: Soul Care

A Soul’s House by Dr. J.K. Jones, Jr. (Joplin: College Press Publishing Company, 2023)

Recently, I have been paying much closer attention to my personal spiritual formation than before. That’s not to say that my personal spiritual growth has not been a priority before. It has. It’s just that I have been more aware and more intentional about it than previously in my life.

Perhaps that is because I’m getting older. Or perhaps it has been sparked by some classes I have taken that focus on leadership from a self-awareness and spiritual formation perspective. Either way, I have been pursuing this more and more, and have spent much time in several good books that have helped.

One of those books is A Soul’s House, by J. K. Jones. Jones labels this book as “A Primer for Spiritual Formation,” and it is that, but even more, it is a “conversation” with another book on spiritual formation that has had a profound impact on Jones’ life. Evelyn Underhill wrote The House of the Soul, and this provides the basis for Jones’ discussion.

While I have not read Underhill’s book (it’s on my list), I found that Jones quotes her extensively and helps his readers gain some perspective into Underhill’s insights and his own responses and perspective. I find that very helpful.

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Invest In Your Spirit

Investments You Need To Make For Growth To Happe

In a world that is inundated with the clanging noise of daily life, it can be easy to overlook the most important aspect of our being: our spirit. In the midst of the chaos, investing in our spiritual formation and well-being often takes a backseat. However, just as we invest in wisdom and in our physical health, nurturing our spirit is equally important.

Invest In Your Spirit

The concept of spiritual disciplines is core to Christianity, and has been since the beginning. We must create and maintain practices and habits that cultivate our relationship with God, and help us to become more and more like Christ. Digging through the pages of the Bible, we can find several such practices, and three are worth mentioning specifically.

However, our spiritual formation is of such critical importance that I find it necessary to identify and inspect many more disciplines and practices. For some time, I have been working through many of these disciplines in a series of posts entitled “Establishing Spiritual Disciplines.” Many of these are found in Scripture, and several more come from the rich traditions to be found studying the history of Christianity. All of these can be assets in our desire for spiritual formation.

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The Need For Community

Pursuing Spiritual Formation With Others

Spiritual Disciplines Banner

By nature, I am an introvert. Some may find that hard to believe, but it’s true. I am most inclined to withdraw into myself and avoid connections. It is only through years of practice that I have learned how to engage with others in meaningful and beneficial ways. I have learned to express myself as an extrovert, but even so, there are times when I much prefer the company of a book over anything — or anyone — else.

Community

I often wrestle with myself because of my nature. If God designed us to be in community, why do I have the personality that would prefer solitude over crowds? If it is not good to be alone, and we need one another, why do I withdraw into myself as a protective instinct in order to prevent the pain that comes with relationships and interactions with people? How do I reconcile these warring sides of my own self?

Because of my nature, I have had a hard time really opening myself up to others fully. It seems that when I do, it frequently leads to feelings of betrayal, rejection, frustration, and pain. The knee-jerk reaction is to simply say, “No. I just won’t open myself up to others.” But that’s not the way. That’s not how we are called to live as Christians.

We are called and created to be in community with one another. We are called to invest in one another, and journey with one another as we discover who God wants us to be, and as we journey toward that goal. Simply put, community exists when we connect with others in an authentic way, in order to love, serve, encourage, and support one another as we grow in Christ. This requires that I set aside my introverted nature and become open and transparent with others as I seek to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

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Invest In Health

Investments You Need To Make For Growth To Happen

Last year, I identified four areas in which we should invest in our lives, especially as leaders. The first area I identified was wisdom, which is the ability to gain knowledge, and then put it into practice. The second area where we should make an investment is into our health.

Invest In Health

I have to admit, this is not an area of life where I excel. I often have good intentions, and sometimes, I follow through with them. Most of the time, I don’t. This is an area where I must become more focused and intentional.

Why? Because our physical health has an impact on every other area of life, and when we make our physical health a priority, the effect is almost immediate. Our minds sharpen, our strength grows, our emotions stabilize, our relationships gain strength, and our spiritual life is impacted as well. Taking the time to address this quadrant of life has a tremendous ripple effect into every other area. And frankly, that amazes me every time I stop to consider it.

But the opposite is true, too. When I either neglect my physical side, or when I work it too hard, all of those other areas suffer as well. Taking the time to invest in our health has to be a top priority.