It’s hard to approach this time of year without being drawn into thoughts of gratitude. After all, we have a national holiday that is meant to be observed not only with a harvest feast, but with a grateful heart. Of course, we are all aware that the feast, perhaps even the football, has become more dominant than the gratitude at Thanksgiving.
But here at Pure Life it’s a good opportunity to remind us that giving thanks to the Lord plays a critical role in helping us overcome sin, especially lust. In his book At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry, Pastor Steve Gallagher says, “A grateful heart is a full heart. When a person is content with life, he will not be driven by the lust for what he should not have” (p. 243).
When someone fails to honor God and give Him thanks, they are taking the first of seven steps in a descent away from God, a tragic spiral that culminates in being “filled with all manner of unrighteousness” (see Romans 1:21-32 ESV). It’s a downward path that often takes men (or women) deep into the bondage and perversion of sexual sin; and the first step is being ungrateful.
But gratitude is vital to our spiritual life. So even those who never wind their way down that terrible spiral of degradation need to develop a grateful heart. The simple truth is, if we’re going to escape the “corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:4 NASB), we must cultivate thankfulness. We must remain vigilant in keeping our hearts in a continual flow of gratitude.
As Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes in her book Choosing Gratitude, “Ungrateful people are much like a container that has a hole in it, leaking out every blessing that’s been poured in, always needing something else, something new to consume for satisfaction fuel. They are like the children of Israel from distant centuries past, whom Moses warned, ‘Take care…lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses to live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God’ (Deuteronomy 8:11-14 ESV). Full, but never full enough” (Moody Publishers, 2011, p. 86).
Usually, it is when things are going well and we have more than enough to provide for our own needs, that we are most tempted to be lifted up in our hearts and forget the Lord. That’s precisely why Israel was often in far better shape spiritually during periods of hardship or suffering, than when they began to prosper. And it isn’t much different for us, today.
For many, it is truly time to heed Jesus’ warning in Revelation to the Church of Laodicea: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:17-19 ESV)
Our prayer is that many will join us in turning to the Lord and bringing Him the thanksgiving offering He deserves. As for us, we are so blessed to have His abiding Presence here as we minister to men and families whose lives have been devastated by the power of lust and sexual sin. We are thankful for the faithful staff members the Lord has called into this great harvest of souls and the unity He has blessed us with. And we are so grateful for the many generous donations that sustain this work. May the Lord bless each one of you with a grateful heart!
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His mercy is everlasting.”
(Psalm 107:1 NASB)