The Transforming Power of Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving

Thankfulness is more than a polite response or a seasonal sentiment—it's a spiritual discipline that has the power to reshape our hearts, redirect our focus, and realign our lives with God’s perspective. Scripture reminds us again and again that gratitude is not optional for the believer; it is essential.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:3–4 that we are not to live in sinfulness or worldliness, but instead to cultivate a heart of thanksgiving. Gratitude becomes the antidote to the self-centeredness, anxiety, and negativity that so easily seep into our thoughts. When we choose to thank God, even in small ways, we push back the darkness and invite His light into our minds.

The psalmist understood this deeply: “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Thankfulness ushers us into God’s presence. It shifts our attention from what we lack to the abundance we already have in Christ. It moves us from despair to hope, from frustration to peace.

Paul again reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Gratitude doesn’t deny hardship—it declares that God is still faithful in the midst of it. It reframes our perspective, helping us see God’s hand working behind the scenes.

This is the power of thankfulness: it reshifts your focus, recalibrates your heart, and restores your joy. When we practice gratitude daily, we begin to see life through the lens of God’s goodness—and that changes everything.

Seated with Christ: From Death to Life, From Mountain to Majesty

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–6, ESV)

This passage captures the heart of the gospel—we were dead, but now we are alive. Paul echoes this truth in Romans 6:4–6, reminding us that through baptism, we are united with Christ not only in His death, but in His resurrection. “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Sin’s power over us has been broken! Our old nature was crucified with Him so that we would no longer live enslaved to sin.

In Christ, we are a new creation—not just forgiven, but transformed. And more than that, we are raised up and seated with Him in heavenly places. Spiritually speaking, that is our position now. We don’t live from a place of defeat, fear, or striving. We operate from a place of victory and authority because we are seated next to the King.

Consider the contrast from Exodus 19. When God descended on Mount Sinai in thunder, smoke, and fire, the people were warned not to even touch the mountain’s edge. “Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.” Only Moses could approach. God’s holiness was unapproachable; His glory, untouchable. Humanity stood at a distance in awe and fear.

But now, through Christ, the story is entirely different. God didn’t just come down the mountain—He lifted us up. The same glory that once consumed now indwells. The same holiness that once excluded now embraces. No longer are we spectators at the base of the mountain; we are participants seated in heavenly places with Jesus.

This is the miracle of grace: what was once impossible is now our reality. We are alive. We are raised. We are seated with Christ in glory—living from His victory, empowered to bring heaven’s reality to earth.

Turning Anxiety into Worship

Did you know that approximately one in every five people in America is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder? This doesn’t consider the everyday person who falls into anxious thinking. The fact of the matter is that everyone struggles with anxious thoughts! The believers and the nonbelievers. What’s so great about God is that He doesn’t ask us to suppress our anxieties, but rather give them to Him in worship! Philippians 4:6 says, ““do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Many people throughout the Bible felt anxious… David, Elijah, and even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is a human emotion based on fear. Anxious thoughts don’t mean you have a lack of faith, but it give an opportunity to gain it. Psalm 94:19 says, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy”.

Now, let’s talk about worship! Worship isn’t just singing. It is the act of surrender and giving God honor, praise, and glory. Worship shifts our focus from our own problems to God’s power and goodness. For example, in Acts 16:25-26, Paul and Silas were worshiping and praying in prison. All the other prisoners were listening to their praise when a sudden earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. Everyone’s bonds were broken, and all the doors were opened. Our praise is a weapon to the enemy! It’s freeing!

Here are a few ways to turn your anxiety into worship:

1. Speak scripture over your anxieties.

2. Play worship music when you feel overwhelmed.

3. Practice gratitude as worship. (Thank Him in advance).

4. Journal prayers of praise.

5. Breathe, and repeat His name!

To continue from Philippians 4:6, verse 7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Peace will guard your heart! Our anxieties may not just disappear, but when we can worship the Lord, we learn to conquer those anxieties and remain in a steady heart that looks to Christ. When worship is a habit, it can also become a lifestyle. The devil can’t touch that!

So I encourage you to choose worship over worry today! Cast your worries at the feet of the Lord and just worship Him!

The Root of Sin: Greed and the Call to Thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:3-4)

Don’t give into greed but be thankful

Ephesians 5:3-4 warns, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."

At first glance, greed may seem unrelated to the other sins Paul lists-but it is actually their root. Pride says, "I am something. I am god, not God." From that false sense of self-importance flows greed, which says, "Therefore, I must have." Greed is the heart's hunger to possess, control, and satisfy itself apart from God. Whether expressed in lust, impurity, or idolatry, greed demands to be filled-even at the expense of others and our relationship with the Lord.

Sin, at its core, is obedience to selfishness. It makes the self the object of worship and devotion. When we chase what we want instead of surrendering to what God has given, we craft idols in our own image. Every act of sin says, "I deserve more than what God has provided."

Paul offers the antidote: thanksgiving. Gratitude breaks greed's grip. When we thank God for who He is and what He has done, we remember that we are not gods—we are beloved children. Thanksgiving restores right worship, turning our eyes from self to Savior, from grasping to gratitude, and from greed to grace.