Vitamin G
Gordon Crook, PastorGrace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas
When studying human nutrition, we come across something called vitamins. These are necessary for the optimal function of our bodies, and we must get them in the necessary amounts.
If you are worried this is going to be an article on human nutrition, you can relax. There is no Vitamin G amongst those we need for our human body. Vitamin G is just a way to think of Gratitude. It is a necessary part of our spiritual life, and we need a daily dose to stay healthy.
This week, Cathy and I welcomed our grandaughter and a great wave of gratitude has come over us. We are so grateful for God’s faithfulness, and for the miracle that is a child. While it is easy to be grateful for something wonderful like a grandchild being born, we need to be grateful everyday.
We are coming up on the US holiday of Thanksgiving which has mostly become about commerce and excess. However, we can make it into a day where we truly reflect on how much we truly have for which to be grateful. I always feel like we can just take back the holidays that the world has turned into simple commerce.
We, as God’s precious people, have so much for which to be grateful. Starting with the amazing fact that we are God’s children. If God never did anything for us after salvation, we would still be thanking and praising Him for all eternity. Thankfully, there is so much more prepared for us.
Just as we need to take in vitamins daily for our natural body, we should be taking our spiritual vitamin G daily. Every morning when you wake up, there is reason to be grateful to God. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,” Psalms 92:1-2. Thankful for the breath to start another day, and grateful to know that God will be with me in that day.
In the night time, we can give thanks. If You wake up in the middle of the night, give thanks for God’s faithfulness through the day. “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Psalms 119:62. At any time, and anywhere, we can get some vitamin G and show gratitude to our Father.
For David, considering God’s holiness was enough to get his vitamin G. “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” Psalms 30:4. “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” Psalms 97:12. God’s holiness is something we can be grateful for. I’m not sure if people realize the importance of God’s holiness. He is separate from us in a way that benefits those that are His people. It takes the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the beauty of His holiness.
We should be continually reminded that God’s mercies are new every morning. It is His mercies that we are not consumed. Lamentations 3:22. David encourages us to thank God for His mercy. “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.” Psalms 106:1. Are we truly grateful for God’s mercies? Do we truly understand what God has given us by His grace? The world system encourages us to believe that we deserve better, that we deserve to have more. I think we need to understand what we really deserve is God’s wrath, but He has taken that away because of what Jesus did for us.
David also encourages us to show our gratitude in front of others. “I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.” Psalms 35:18. We often do that in giving a testimony in church, but it could be as simple as telling other people that we are thankful for God. When something good comes in our lives, we tell others that we recognize it is God’s grace and we are grateful.
What about when things are not going so well. When it seems that our life is in upheaval for some reason? We should still be grateful and express that gratitude to our Father. He is working in our lives and that is more valuable than just walking a perfect tranquil path. James 1:2-4. Perhaps this is why David tells us: “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.” Psalms 116:17. We often think that gratitude should be easy, but sometimes it is not. It might be a sacrifice. It is also a sacrifice in that we are recognizing God is sovereign and all He does is good.
So, have you been getting enough Vitamin G? Just as our natural bodies need their vitamins to function optimally, so do we need our spiritual vitamins to function optimally. We certainly have good reason to get lots of Vitamin G, as our God is so good to us.
I encourage you to get into God’s Word, and study to know what we have been given in our Lord Jesus Christ. It will amaze you and elicit serious amounts of gratitude from your heart.
