"Gratitude Breaks the Chain of Bitterness"

November 03, 2023 Daily Devotion: "Gratitude Breaks the Chain of Bitterness" Ephesians 5:18-21 New International Version 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells believers to “always [give] thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.” When we pray in the name of Jesus, we express our desire to reflect His character and seek His glory. Praying in this way is vital to understanding how to appreciate whatever the Lord allows in our life—including losses, diagnoses, and disappointments. So, how do we give thanks for all things? Consider everything Joseph experienced. Until he was a teenager, he’d known only love and security. But one day his troubles began, courtesy of jealous older brothers. Joseph found himself thrown down into a pit and later into prison, robbed of everything but his faith. For more than a decade, he waited. And though Scripture never tells us what Joseph was thinking, he must have endured some dark nights of the soul. Later, however, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers in Egypt and told them, “God sent me ahead of you to save lives” (Genesis 45:5). Those words reveal that when he looked back at every hardship, Joseph understood how the Lord had been at work. His response was not one of bitterness but of gratitude.