When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-21). While many of us are familiar with the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control-this list is not exhaustive. It’s more than a mere checklist. There are other “fruits of the spirit.” One significant one is “thankfulness” as we discover in the Ephesians passage. When the Spirit of God guides our lives, we are enveloped in a spirit of gratitude, becoming thankful people in all aspects of our lives.
It is through the transformative presence of the Spirit that we can become people of perpetual gratitude. It’s through the power of the Spirit that Job proclaimed, “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed is the name of the Lord.” It’s through the indwelling of God’s Spirit that he declared, “naked came I into the world and naked from it I will go.” And only the Holy Spirit could have inspired his words, “Although He slay me, yet will I put my faith in Him.” An unknown author beautifully encapsulated this transformation in a poem:
O Thou whose bounty fills my cup, With every blessing meet!
I give Thee thanks for every drop—The bitter and the sweet.
I praise Thee for the desert road, And for the riverside;
For all Thy goodness hath bestowed, And all Thy grace denied.
I thank Thee for both smile and frown, And for the gain and loss;
I praise Thee for the future crown And for the present cross.
I thank Thee for both wings of love Which stirred my worldly nest;
And for the stormy clouds which drove Me, trembling, to Thy breast.
I bless Thee for the glad increase, And for the waning joy;
And for this strange, this settled peace Which nothing can destroy.
“Be filled with the Spirit… giving thanks always for everything.” Ephesians 5:20