Gratitude Quotient

Daily Reading: 1 Corinthians 15

Scripture Focus: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15.10)

Devotional Thought: Lana and I have a dear friend who got into a bit of a tight place. We love her and want to help her any way we can, giving her jobs to do to earn some money. One 90o day, she worked for 6 hours in the hot sun. I paid her a little, but that wasn’t why she was doing this work. Afterwards, I received the following text from her: “Jus wanna say again, that am so thankful of y'all being such a huge part of my life, your support, and every bit of help that y'all give to me. Y'all are truly a blessing from our good Lord above!!! I love y'all.”

Paul had gotten into a bit of a tight space spiritually. He had spent considerable time, energy and resources trying to stamp out the early church, threatening and arresting believers and even serving as a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen. Paul knew that he did not deserve the grace of God. But he also knew that he had received it anyway! And because of that, his heart was filled with gratitude, causing him to work hard for the Lord.

What do your efforts say about your gratitude quotient? You see, it wasn’t the few dollars of reward that caused her to work out in the hot sun. (She would have done it for no pay as she has helped me in the past so many times.) It was love and gratitude that drove her.

That’s how Paul felt about Jesus. That’s how I feel about Jesus. Is that how you feel about Jesus? What’s your gratitude quotient?

Prayer: Jesus, how blessed I am to be a worker in your vineyard. I willingly put my talents, my time, and my energy into your hands. Use me, O Lord, for your glory and the good of those around me! Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 1 My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! 2 Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 3 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! 6 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me! (Psalms 108:1-6)