Soul Shepherding Devotional
By Bill Gaultiere © 2007, 2011
I want to share with you some words on thankfulness that mean so much to me. They come from one of my favorite books that has stirred fires of devotion to Christ in my life: A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life written in the year 1728 by William Law, an English educator and writer. The selection I have for you to read at the end of this devotional encourages us to cultivate an attitude of thankfulness to God in all situations.
How do we become the kind of person who will look to the Lord Jesus Christ and “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)? This is the most important question of our lives! Why? Because thankfulness, according William Law, is the most important of all virtues. It is leads us into holiness and happiness.
Implicit in William Law’s teaching on thankfulness is the discipline of submission to God. In submission we entrust our lives and all of our experiences to the Sovereign Lord, trusting that he is good, even when bad things happen to us. Then we find that right in the midst of pain and problems we can learn to “rejoice always” because “the Lord is near” (Philippians 4:4-5). This is the greatest blessing imaginable: Jesus, the Lord and King, our eternal Friend!
Tried and True Wisdom for Today
Maybe you’re wondering, “Why read a book on the Christian life that’s almost 300 years old? There are so many helpful books being published today why not turn to one of them?”
We need the old classics of Christian devotion. William Law’s book is one of the great treasures of our heritage that sadly have been lost to most Christians today. These old books are so needed, not only because they have stood the test of time, but also because they have a message that is different than almost all of the Christian books being written today.
Submission is a case in point. It’s not popular today to talk about submitting our day-to-day lives to God’s rule over us. We’d rather learn how to assert ourselves to do what we want to do and then ask God to bless it. We’d rather learn Biblical principles for success. Isn’t it my life to do with as I want? Or, maybe we realize that to be selfish and so we don’t approach things that way. Instead, we sanctify our ambitions and desires by saying, “I’m doing this for God!”
But God’s will is always done in God’s way.
The Way of Jesus
The way of Jesus is humble and cheerful and patient and kind. It’s not about pushing to make things happen. It’s not about striving to accomplish things that generate more money or applause. It’s not about making my life turn out the way I want it to.
Did you ever notice that the only thing that Jesus hurried to do was get to Jerusalem to embrace his cross? Jesus continually submitted himself to God’s will—gladly! He only did what the Scriptures led him to do and what he discerned in prayer to be the Father’s will (Luke 4:21; John 6:38, 12:50). And he never complained—even when he was hungry, misunderstood by family, criticized and mocked, rejected by many, betrayed by friends, tortured, crucified.
Little-by-little I’m learning to submit my life to God as Jesus did. And a primary way I’m doing this is by thanking and praising him for his goodness to me even when my circumstances are not to my liking. I do this simply because the Lord is good and beautiful; he is faithful and he is my portion!
I’ve discovered by experience along the way that thankfulness to God has done so much to help me to grow in the joy of the Lord that is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and to free me from anxiety (Philippians 4:6). It’ll do the same for you. But that’s not the reason to cultivate gratitude for God. The primary reason is bless God!
Thankfulness: the Perfection of Virtue
In A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life William Law inspires his readers to find delight in using spiritual exercises to grow in holiness in order to present to the Lord a heart that is fully devoted to loving him and loving other people in his name. John Wesley is one of many great Christian leaders who credits this book as developing in him an explicit resolve to be wholly dedicated to Christ.
Here are William Law’s words on thankfulness from his classic devotional:
There is no state of mind so holy, so excellent, and so truly perfect as that of thankfulness to God. Consequently, nothing is of more importance in religion that that which exercises and improves this habit of mind. The greatest saint in the world is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and who has a heart always ready to praise God for it. All prayer and devotion, fasting and repentance, meditation and retirement, all sacraments and ordinances are but so many means to render the soul thus divine. This is the perfection of all virtues…
If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make a rule to yourself to thank and praise God in everything that happens to you. It is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it your turn it into a blessing. If you could work miracles, therefore, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit. It heals and turns all that it touches into happiness…
The spirit of murmur and discontent will be unable to enter into the heart that is so often employed in singing the praises of God (p. 101).
More Soul Shepherding
“No Notes? Sing a Psalm Anyway!” features another teaching from William Law that has been positively transforming in my life.
“Reading the Classics of Christian Devotion” will inspire you to pick up one of my favorite old books and open your heart to the Lord.
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William Gaultiere, Ph.D. & Kristi Gaultiere, Psy.D. ~ SoulShepherding.org
