THE GREATER GAIN

People find a lot of wise laws in nature. It’s no wonder, for the laws of nature were established by the wise Lawgiver, Whose traces can be seen in His creation. Days turning into nights, sunny and rainy days, withering nature in the fall, winter hibernation, spring awakening, summer maturity, everything serves the ultimate goal – the earth bears fruit and life continues. The Maker of the visible and invisible has wisely created the biological balance of life and ultimately every season is necessary in the endless cycle of days and months of the year. Throughout its entire course, the farmer thanks God for the rain, for the snow, for the sun, for the spring, for the summer, for the autumn, and at the end of the year he thanks God for the harvest.



A similar thing happens in people’s lives: the spring of youth, the summer of labor, the fall of maturity, the winter of being old. Towards the sunset of people’s lives, they remember how varied the years of their lives were. Each in their own way, everybody had joys and sorrows, working and resting time, there were times they cried and times they laughed, times they loved and hated. It’s the law of life that we have to go through nights of sorrow and sunny days of joy, torment and dull periods of drought and rain and rainbows of blessings, crimson sunsets of illness and azure dawns of recovery. In the end, the time of harvest will come as well, and people will have to reap the fruit of their lives. Therefore, just like a farmer thanks God for all the seasons, the Word of God teaches us to be grateful for everything.

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Our conversation will be based on two Scriptures: “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thessalonians 5:18) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

It’s easy to live, when everything in your life goes right. The human soul strives for good and we perceive all good as the norm of life. That’s why good is frequently overlooked, not appreciated and taken for granted. This is how things must be. How else could it be? For example, when we are driving down a freeway and there isn’t any traffic, everything goes smoothly, very few people actually notice it, because it’s considered normal. That’s how it should be. But as soon as something goes wrong and the cars start to move at a snail’s pace, stopping every now and then, the situation goes outside the normal and tension begins to arise. A similar thing happens in other life situations. As long as all is well – all is well, but if something beyond the good and normal happens, people experience rough patches, and everybody goes through them differently.

The purpose of the discussion in this chapter is to see how the grace of God gives us a wonderful instrument, thanks to which, even passing through the Valleys of Weeping and the Shadow of Death, we can discover the sources of blessing in them. This instrument is called thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is God’s will at all times. Even in the Old Testament, along with other sacrifices, God commanded to offer sacrifices of thankfulness, which were an indispensable part of the ministry in the temple. Joshua, emphasizing the importance of thanksgiving, calls for praising God with both sacrifices and peace-offerings: “...we may do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings” (Joshua 22:27) In the time of David, the ministry of thanksgiving became more significant as David strengthened and expanded this ministry. He appointed special Levites to give thanks and praise to God every morning and evening. 1 Chronicles 16:4; 1 Chronicles 23:30. The prophet Nehemiah writes about the Levites who praised God at every thanksgiving sacrifice. Nehemiah 12:24. For this service, they sang special songs of praise and thanksgiving. Nehemiah 12:46. The ability to give thanks has always been considered a sign of good upbringing, culture and evidence of the beauty of the soul. But, unfortunately, today we often come across ungrateful people and I think it is difficult to argue with the fact that gratitude is one of the rarest qualities in modern humanity. These days, far from everyone is able to notice the good, appreciate it and be thankful for it. The Apostle Paul writes to his young disciple Timothy that one of the signs of the end times will be that people will be ungrateful. (2 Timothy 3: 1-5)

In the first Epistle to Timothy, Paul wrote a line that expresses the greatest dream of all generations: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1Timothy 6:6) In this simple Holy Scripture, he concentrated the multi-volume philosophy of sages, trying to show people the way to happiness for ages. Paul doesn’t write that great gain is ruling a city or being a high priest, or having a lot of gold and luxurious villas, herds of thoroughbred horses and many servants, chests full of jewels, and closets of expensive clothes, but he writes that great gain is godliness and contentment.

We must admit that people’s quenchless centuries-old desire for happiness and the pleasures of life cannot be fulfilled without one important element, playing the pivotal role: contentment. One could be fabulously wealthy, but not content, and it’s impossible for such a person to be truly happy. You could have access to the whole world, but it won’t necessarily give you the feeling of enjoyment. On the other hand, people having modest financial means and opportunities can be content and happy, gratefully accepting the precious gift of life with their whole being. Contentment means standing in the lobby of the building of happiness.

There is a widespread misconception these days that true believers should have top-level lives. They should have the best cars and houses, the most expensive clothes, they should never get sick or have problems or worries, etc. And if something unfortunate happens, it means that, for some reason, God no longer favors this person. Such people become slaves to circumstances: if everything is good, then God loves me, but if something bad happens, God doesn’t love me anymore. This kind of reasoning gives the devil a huge kaleidoscope of situations in which he can tempt people, depressing them with sad conclusions made from experiences and difficulties of life.

Frankly speaking, the Scripture doesn’t give us a basis to affirm it unequivocally, but there’s a flip side to this. When fluffy yellow chickens hatch, people always try to feed them the best food and keep them warm and safe until they grow. The same thing happens with spiritual chickens, which, unfortunately, some Christians can be for many years. God tries to save the chickens that are weak spiritually, and prevent them from temptations they would be incapable of handling, because even minor difficulties and worries may knock them out of the rut of life and throw them into a ditch of despondency and despair. It doesn’t mean that the whole life of a Christian should consist of the Valleys of Weeping and the Shadow of Death, God blesses the righteous, but those who “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called them heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14) will definitely pass through the furnace of temptation and suffering.

Christ, having left heaven’s glory, came to our sinful earth not to make us live here comfortably and safely, but to save us from eternal destruction. “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” – Christ said. Like all people, He had to endure and suffer, languish and worry, cry and sympathize, overcome difficulties and so on. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we can read that many prophets and men of faith also went through hardships, grief, and wanderings. “The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” (Hebrews 11:38) God did not promise us that becoming a Christian would automatically wall us off from all difficulties and worries, but God promised that He would give us the strength to endure all trials and walk with us through the Valleys of Weeping. God did not promise us an easy and cloudless life here, but He promised not to leave us and love us always. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3) Temptations, sorrows, problems and worries are the devil’s ram, with which he is trying to punch a hole in the walls of our souls. Therefore, it’s very important for a Christian to learn how to calmly endure the blows of fate, putting everything into the hands of God. For the most part, such phenomena have an external nature, and as long as the problem remains on the outside, things are not as bad as they could be. It’s worse when the problem breaks inside and a series of its sad consequences creep into your soul through this hole. As a rule, a strong reaction to the problem doesn’t solve it, but even makes it worse. The problem doesn’t change, but we do. The joy of living and the peace of the soul leave, making way for new uninvited “inhabitants”. Despondency, rage, anger, irritation, screaming, crying, suffering, anxiety, pressure, sleepless nights, and so on are able to poison all good things in life and this is clearly not a physical problem. Ask your doctor to prescribe you a vial of patience. You can go around to all the pharmacies in the world and you won’t find patience in any of them. As well as you won’t find forgiveness, mercy, love, gentleness, and other spiritual qualities. These “medicines” should be found elsewhere.

There is a verse in Scripture that reveals how we should correctly interpret and react to extreme situations in life. In the same way as we always wear a wristwatch so that we can use it at any time, we must remember this Scripture, for it will help our soul to survive temptations and problems. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1: 2-3)

The aim of the Apostle James’ golden advice is not only to help a person going through a rough patch to rise to the occasion, but also to benefit from temptations. The first thing James advises is to rejoice when we face a temptation, knowing that temptations and problems are not necessarily punishment for some wrongdoing, but can be explained by other reasons that please God at this stage of your life. This way, we will maintain a positive state of mind and protect our soul from the negative consequences of temptations, and it will give us the strength to stay calm in critical situations, keep peace in our hearts and soberly assess the situation, not letting an external problem enter our soul. As a result, we receive nuggets of a precious spiritual quality called patience. (The problem of difficulties and worries will be discussed in more detail in the next chapter.)

David was "a man after the Lord's heart" and His Chosen Vessel. You would think that if anyone’s life should be quiet and cloudless, David’s should have been, but look how much he had to endure. Naturally, there were problems in David’s life, which he himself got into, as was the case with Bathsheba, which led to a whole chain of negative consequences, but all in all, David's life was very difficult. God allowed David to experience the problems and difficulties of life, which prompted David to turn to the Lord again and again and God helped David to overcome these problems. And this is how David, step by step, discovered the unsearchable riches of God's grace, which was then reflected in his psalms, which in their turn have served as a blessing for many millions of people on earth until now and they will until the end of the age. No matter how hard it was for David, even his most deplorable psalms invariably end with gratitude and praise to God. No other prophet in the Bible created as many thanksgiving and praiseful psalms as did David. We can also find a lot of God’s promises in them. His faith in the Invisible was expressed in praise and hence, David gained his numerous victories.

Therefore, despite all the difficulties, David writes: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6) It’s true, there were sorrows, worries, difficulties and trials in David’s life, but summing it up, he testifies that it was wonderful when the hand of God guided him through all difficulties, it was wonderful to feel the hand of a Friend and Counselor, Protector and Helper, reliable like a rock.

Psalms 104 and 105 describe a brief history of the Israelites. There we find the following extract: “and He (God) sent a man before them (to Egypt) — Joseph, sold as a slave…” Interesting, isn’t it? That’s not what we imagine upon hearing “God sent a man to Egypt”. These days, when you see great missionaries, surrounded by a squad of bodyguards, flying in comfortable Boeings and getting to the next stadium by the latest Mercedes models, you probably can’t help thinking: Well, that’s a true servant of God. What a level of ministry! What a large scale audience they are preaching to! What an enthusiastic audience reception! This is what you call a “God sent a man”.

It must be noted, however, don’t get me wrong, I have no intention to judge them. (And neither should you. It’s better to pray for them, and especially for their audiences.) I don’t have a scale that could weigh their souls and the intentions of their hearts. No one appointed me to judge such people, God will do it in due time. I can only agree with the words, said by the Apostle Paul: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice…” (Philippians 1:18)

I would like to draw your attention to the other side of the coin. If life brings you a streak of negative experiences and problems, don’t lose heart, thinking that God has departed from you, or is punishing you for some wrongdoing. Make every effort to prevent these circumstances from disturbing your inner peace with God, to keep grumbling and despondency away from your soul. Like David, pour out your sorrow before God and thank Him for His help. Give Him glory and overcome temptations and problems with the power of gratitude. Remember, that for those who love God, all things work for the good. Remember Joseph, who was once "sent to Egypt by God." When God “sent” him to Egypt, He didn’t tell Joseph about it, so it was very important that Joseph didn’t break down, or fall into the swamp of grumbling and despair, but remained faithful to God and steadfastly endured all the difficulties, which in the end appeared to be fortunate and fateful for Joseph himself as well as for the entire nation of Israel. David writes: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, Who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)

These and many other Scriptures reveal to us that the transition from positive periods of life to the negative ones shouldn’t be perceived as something strange or terrible beyond repair, but it is a part of a normal process of a spiritual life, which develops our spiritual maturity, preparing us for the glory of eternal life, compared to which everything earthly is insignificant and fleeting. “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) Therefore, God allows temptations for our benefit, because through them we have a chance to receive the crown of life. That’s why James says that we should cherish and not miss a chance of temptation, but, accept them with joy and without despondency, thank God for them, knowing that every conquest over temptation is a step that raises us higher and higher towards the crown of life and honors of the highest calling of God in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Peter also gives a similar instruction: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.” (1Peter 4:12-13)

Thus, if people make a direct connection between their relationships with God and external circumstances, they will sooner or later be shipwrecked in their faith. The merit and praise of Christians is that they find the strength to thank God not only for a lucky turn of events and prosperity, but in spite of all temptations and problems. Prophet Habakkuk writes: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18) This is the portrait of a true child of God’s personality, for whom external circumstances are absolutely unimportant. Such people love God despite temptations, problems and difficulties. They love God for being God. It should be incomparably easier for us, modern people, to understand it and do it today than it was in ancient times, for we have the precious lamp of the Word of God, in which we can find the answer to any of life's problems.

Let me ask you a question: what sins are considered to be serious for a Christian? You will say: murder, fornication, theft, etc. And I will have to agree with you. Indeed, these are grave sins, which must not be as much as mentioned among Christians. But I want to draw your attention to another sin, serious enough to be placed in the category of “increased severity” sins. I am talking about grumbling. I deliberately call grumbling a sin of “increased severity”, because there is a popular opinion that grumbling is not a real sin, but a minor one, or as it is also called "a sin not to death." A teeny-tiny flaw from the category of infirmities and weaknesses. It means that grumbling is not taken seriously. So what if a brother or sister grumbles in their weakness? What are you going to do about it? That’s their weakness, their little shortcoming. There seems to be no particular harm in it, if they come to the meetings regularly and sacrifice… But I would place grumbling in the category of the most dangerous sins for a believer and I urge you to pay the most serious attention to it.

Before the people of Israel were delivered from Egyptian slavery, God did a lot of miracles before their eyes. But despite this, they became discontent, which caused them to grumble. In the end, God delivers a verdict: none of the grumblers will enter the Promised Land. And this is the reason for the forty years of their wondering in the wilderness, until all the grumblers died. That’s why the enemy of human souls does all he can to sow the seeds that cause us to grumble in our souls, for he knows that grumbling is a grave sin, which leads to destruction, because the person sins against God.

As a rule, being in this condition, people don’t consider themselves guilty. Blinded by the grumbling, they lose the ability to soberly assess reality and perceive only the negative side of life. Nothing makes them happy, they are dissatisfied with everything, their physical and emotional health deteriorate, and Satan tries to direct people’s negative emotions towards God, as the object of grumbling. - “And where is God looking? Doesn’t He see? Doesn’t He know?” And so on and so forth. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, made a good point about this aspect of life: “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.” (Proverbs: 19:3) As you can see from this verse, ancient people had the same reaction to problems as modern people do today. Violating the Lord’s commandments on their own initiative, people do stupid things, and then, looking for someone to blame, start to grumble at God. It’s been thousands of years since Solomon wrote this verse, but little has changed in humanity during this time.

We have read that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. It’s clear that these words of the Scripture are directed to believers, and that’s why it’s twice as destructive and unacceptable if a person, who takes the responsibility to be called a Christian, starts to grumble. By doing this, people protest and declare that they see flaws in God’s actions. They think that God does something incorrectly or unfair, there’s something God overlooks and underestimates, God doesn’t give enough of something or punishes someone undeservedly, etc. Grumbling is a sin that insults God. It starts with ingratitude, insignificant at first sight, ingratitude leads to discontent, discontent turns into grumbling, grumbling develops into blasphemy and curse.

The world we live in is full of contrasts. Good and evil, black and white, truth and lies, light and darkness, love and hatred, these phenomena are directly opposed and mutually exclusive. There is no hatred in love, light casts out darkness, the truth destroys lies, but what can we confront grumbling with? It’s thanksgiving. Thanksgiving cleanses the soul from destructive metastases of grumbling. They can’t coexist. They are children of different fathers.

It may seem to someone that I encourage you to be consciously passive, avoid the struggle and real life and hide in your inner world, giving up on the struggle and victory in advance, passing the initiative to the enemy. But this is not true. Thanksgiving is a Christian's powerful weapon and a form of struggle. Firstly, it is the key factor of faith, an instrument for the fulfillment of the expected, it is our protection from temptations and finally, it is a means of destroying the strongholds of evil in people’s hearts and it strongly displeases the devil. Teaching people gratitude, God gives us the key that opens the door to a happy life.

Once the Apostles Paul and John met a disabled person at the doors of the temple, who asked them for money and Peter told him: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6) There are not so many rich Christians among us today. Like Peter and John, many of us can say: We don’t have silver or gold, but we can give people something bigger than corruptible silver and gold, we can teach them to thank God. For everything. It will be a great gain for them, for the grateful state of the human soul is an invaluable treasure.

The enemy of human souls has thrown millions of people into spiritual and economic chaos, into poverty and desolation, and is now reaping his terrible harvest on earth. Today, thousands of embittered, devastated people, who don’t believe in anything or anyone, curse their lives, other people, God and everything on earth, and, not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes take their own lives. Blessed are those who will be able to reveal to them the love of God and teach them, in spite of any difficulties, to thank God for everything.

               There is something surprising for the world in the fact that a Christian, in any circumstances, finds the strength of spirit to thank God for everything. In persecution or prisons, in hunger, in cramped conditions, in disease, in poverty and in abundance, in joy and sorrow ... Children of God know who brings all troubles into the world and, therefore, the best thing we can do is to learn to thank God. If we despond, grumble, rage, Satan will be very pleased, that is why gratitude is the best response a Christian can make to all temptations and trials. It can seem foolish to the world, but it’s precious for a believer.

Let us remember an important spiritual formula: God allows only the kind of evil in a person's life that will definitely turn into good and vice versa. The devil can give people good, which will definitely turn into evil and lead them to destruction.

Christians’ true purpose is not only to be grateful themselves, but to try to make other people thank God. Our good deeds play a crucial role here. In the Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul thanks the Corinthian church for their zeal for good deeds and reveals an important spiritual law of the consequences of good deeds. “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (2Corinthians 9:11-12) This extract from the Scripture testifies that our good deeds are a powerful weapon for a Christian, for they generate in human hearts abundant thanksgiving to God. It means that there is no room for the devil in such hearts, for he flees from a place where God is praised. That’s why the Scripture tells us: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…” (Ephesians 2:10)

               The impact of good deeds is multiplied many times over, if we are capable of doing them to those who wrong us, if we are able to bless and pray for those who curse and hate us.

  Whether we like it or not, we make an impression on those we live, work, or study with, and these impressions can be very different. The Apostle Paul writes that whenever he thinks about his friends from the Macedonian city of Philippi, a desire to thank God for them is kindled in his heart. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…” (Philippians 1:3-4) What a wonderful testimony the Macedonian Christians received from the Apostle Paul. These words mean that even with your way of life you can serve God, for positive memories of us give rise to thanksgiving to God in other people’s hearts. The Apostle writes similar testimonies about many other churches as well (Ephesians 1:16. Ephesians 5:20. 2Thessalonians 1:3. 2Thessalonians 2:13. Colossians 1:3. 1Thessalonians 1:2. 1Thessalonians 3:9.)

Let's take a look at our life. Do our neighbors thank God that we live on the same street or in the same apartment building with them?

Do our coworkers or classmates thank God for the time they spend with us? Do our bosses thank God that we started working in their departments?

Do our spouses thank God that they agreed to tie their lives with ours through the eternal bonds of marriage?

Do our children thank God for the lifestyle they see we lead, for the wise instructions we give and the example we set?

Do those people we met by chance and know that we will probably never see them again thank God for it? What image remains in their memory after our meeting?

Does the pastor and ministers of our church thank God for the way we do God’s work and the example our brothers and sisters see in us?

The list of such questions can be very long, and I want to emphasize one important truth here: gratitude is an amazing spiritual means of healing the soul, and as Christians, we are called not only to thank God ourselves, but to generate the feelings of gratitude to God in other people’s souls, spreading the fragrance of Christ to everyone around us. Hot waves of gratitude drive out evil thoughts from people’s hearts, induce the desire to follow a good example and prepare the ground for the precious seeds of the Holy Spirit.

Gratitude is of paramount importance from the perspective of the shield of faith. It is no secret that the enemy of human souls is always ready to tempt a person and he is very skilled at this craft. If somebody gets into trouble, Satan, from his side, does everything he can to lead people to discontent, grumbling and anger, by arousing negative emotions in them. If this happens, it pleases Satan, for he is the enemy of all that is good. But if in response to all temptations we do not grumble or despair, but every time thank God (it’s written: thank God for everything), we put Satan in a very uncomfortable position. It looks as though he himself becomes an involuntary stimulus for a new wave of our gratitude, if in response to every temptation we immediately start to thank God. The more Satan tempts us, the more often we offer thanksgiving to God. Thus, every time before approaching us with a new temptation, Satan himself falls into a temptation: is it really worth tempting us again, if instead of discontent and grumbling, we will feel gratitude to God? Therefore, thank God for everything. There are always enough reasons why we can and should thank God.

God lives among the praises of the celestials. The whole sky is filled with praise and glorification. Having covered the earth with a gloomy fog of evil and sin, Satan puts every effort into making people hate their lives, grumble at God and curse each other, whereas God wants us to live the life of gratitude and praise, as do celestial inhabitants. The path of faith teaches us to live a life of gratitude, while still on earth. The heavenly windows of God's promises are always open to people. Stretch out the hand of faith to them and begin to thank God for the answer. You will not be ashamed, for God cannot change, and nor can His pronouncements.

Just as the farmer knows that all seasons benefit the plants, we must always remember in our spiritual life, that God controls the situation and will not allow temptations beyond our capacity. We read above: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) This and many other Scriptures give us a solid reason to thank God for everything. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, which is of crucial importance in your life, you don’t have to worry about the rest. Pass the wheel of your destiny over to the great Captain and calmly do your earthly job under His control. God never makes mistakes. Remember, there are no difficult situations for God, because God controls all areas of life. There is very little left for us to do: we should stay awake, thank Him for everything and live a quiet and serene life, knowing that all things work for our good.

My friend, do you believe that God loves you? If you do, thank God. Do you believe that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him? Thank God for everything. Do you believe that nothing is impossible with God? Do you believe that God is able to deliver you from any problems? Thank God.

Do you believe that God has already saved you from eternal damnation? If you do, thank God. As we strive to achieve a grateful heart, we will discover an astonishing world of God’s blessings, for doing this we will fulfill God’s will. Thus, our hearts will be filled and overflowing with new waves of God's grace. Thus, we will gain more and more new victories over temptations and in due time will thank God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit in eternity together with all the saints, for words of gratitude to God will also sound there for ever and ever: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (Revelations 7:12)

Philosophers write books and papers on how to get through certain problems, but this truth, thanks to faith, is as accessible for illiterate peasants and fishermen as it is for the great Apostles. My friend, from now on, start to thank God for everything and God’s peace will fill your soul and no force in the universe will be capable of stealing this peace, while your heart is overflowing with gratitude. Here we find God’s wisdom which is superior to understanding and which provided for a reliable and safe path to people’s happiness, and even the weakest person will never lose their way following it.

Let us always remember that God loves us just as He loves Billy Graham or the Apostle Paul, and He will not exchange our precious souls for all the riches of this world. Therefore, may those people who surround us today, no matter how fallen they might be, be precious in our eyes, just as our soul is precious in the eyes of the Lord. May the Lord give us strength to always be grateful to Him for everything. “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” (2Corinthians 4:15)

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)