Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Key points

• Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand’s gratitude and grace in response to sustained persecution defied human reason.
• When God wills something for our lives, He will also provide the means.
• Listen to the Gratitude series and others on Real Hope | The Podcast.

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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.

When God wills something for our lives, He will also provide the means.

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?

Listen to this episode in the player above.

Gratitude is a six-week series inviting listeners to create a habit of gratitude in their lives. Subscribe to the YouVersion plan.

Subscribe to listen to this series and others on Real Hope | The Podcast.

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Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro

Episode supplied with thanks to Dwayne Jeffries.

Originally published as ‘A Gratitude That Reshapes the World’ in Real Hope, Jan-Feb 2024.