Real Hope: GratitudeChikamu

A Gratitude That Reshapes The World

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand’s gratitude and grace in response to sustained persecution defied human reason. For his unwavering Christian faith and vocal opposition to the Romanian Communist regime of his home, Richard endured 14 years of brutal imprisonment and torture. Yet, through despair, he chose gratitude. He gave thanks for the opportunity to share his faith with fellow prisoners and even with some of his persecutors, seeing his suffering as a means of offering hope and strength. When one of his captors asked what his God could do for him now, Wurmbrand responded, ‘He can forgive you’. This simple reply profoundly affected the official, leading to his eventual conversion to Christianity.

I find myself wondering if I could be capable of such grace and gratefulness. I’m certain that without Christ I would fail. In the second half of today’s reading Paul declares ‘… for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus’. Paul is not relaying a divine order as much as re-enforcing a holy promise. When God wills something for our lives, He will also provide the means. And in answering ‘yes Lord’, our gratitude becomes a gift to those about us.

Richard Wurmbrand’s unceasing gratitude saw him found the Voice of the Martyrs to serve and sustain persecuted Christians around the world.

Could gratitude be one of the greatest gifts God gave His children? Is there a more potent display of God’s grace than our gratefulness for God’s presence in our lives shining through us in our darkest moments?

Written by DWAYNE JEFFRIES