Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning. Karl Barth

What a faith drenched beautiful statement! And I say amen, amen and amen to that. Gratitude bathes our face with tears when we look upon the face of grace and dwell in it’s presence. Grace is a gift of God and gratitude is our gift back to Him. Like grace, joy too is a gift from God.

Joy is the fruit that comes out of the tree of faith. Joy is not equivalent to happiness or pleasure for the latter two rely on act and circumstances. We cannot demand joy as our right. We cannot pluck it out of God’s hand, saying we’ve toiled for it. No, it can only burst out of the Spirit of God within us. It comes mostly spontaneously. It is not a wage earned for the service I’ve worked for.

John Piper beautifully explains it as follows; The farmer plows the field, plants the seed, cut away weeds and scare away crows, but that doesn’t promise him a good harvest. It is God who sends the rain and sunshine that make the seeds to grow, mature and produce fruits. It’s God’s grace that gives a bumper harvest. Seasons of drought and damage could make the crops to fail at times. But during this time, God gives grace for the farmer to pull through the difficult season. Like the farmer waits for the crops to yield a good harvest, we too must wait for joy to burst out when it seems impossible to attain it.

Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Rejoice, yes, I say rejoice for who He is and what He has done for you. Never take any of your blessings for granted. With heart felt gratitude offer your thanks to God without fail. Yes, it is good to give thanks to God and sing praises to Him as long as you breathe. That’s all God wants from you-a heart of gratitude and obedience. Not your money nor your work. Grace from above expects gratitude from below. Give it all you can for you can never repay the Amazing Grace given to you at any time.

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