The Compelling Case for Spiritual Giants: Thanks-Full-Ness

I’ve been “blogging out loud” about my gut sense that the world desperately needs Spiritual Giants; Spiritual Redwoods; people of deep faith.  Many individuals know that their lives lack meaning and depth. The deep-seated hunger for God, created in them by their Creator, consciously or not-so-consciously, has them on the look out for something of depth to meet that hunger.  What they are tired of seeing is shallow faith—faith lived on the shores of the ocean rather than in its depths. 

With so many “faith” options now available, people are looking for the real thing—and that will show itself in a faith that’s lived.

In a previous post I suggested that the first characteristic of people of deep faith is that they know their Subject.  People of deep faith never stop diving into the depths of God and his grace.  They know the stories of the Bible.  They know Jesus with head and heart.  And they live accordingly.

Another characteristic of deep faith is Thankfulness.  Spiritual Redwoods live in the constant awareness of God’s grace and blessings.  As Paul writes, they give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18), not for everything, but in everything.  We all experience things in life for which we can’t possibly give thanks—nor should we.  But we can still give thanks because the God of the Cross is in the midst of them.  He has not abandoned us.  Rather than focusing on what we don’t have or the awful stuff of life, Spiritual Giants keep their hearts centered on God and God’s grace.

Another word for Thankfulness is Contentment.  Paul says it this way while sitting in a jail cell uncertain if he will live or die:

I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty.  In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and  of being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  (Philippians 4:11-13)

Paul discovered the secret to a deep life in faith: Trusting in a God who will care for him.  That trust leads to contentment which fuels thankfulness.

And thankfulness forges us into Spiritual Giants—people of depth.  People who, no matter how tough life is, follow the Crucified One with a heart of gratitude knowing that Jesus has been there before us.

How different that is from a culture that constantly bemoans what it doesn’t have, incessantly focuses on the new and the latest must-have, and lives in a constant restlessness and emptiness.

And how attractive a life of authentic gratitude looks when we see it.

The world is crying out for more Pauls, more Christ-followers, more people of deep, grateful faith.