BE THANKFUL ALWAYS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MAY 15, 2023.

SUBJECT: BE THANKFUL ALWAYS! 

Memory verse: "In everything give thanks; for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (First Thessalonians 5 vs 18.) 

READ:  Read Psalm 92 vs 1 - 2; Ephesians 5 vs 20:

Psalm 9:1: It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High;

92:2: To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night,

Ephesians 5:20: Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

INTIMATION:

We have learned that every good thing that comes to us in this life comes by the grace of God. I believe that until we recognize this truth, we will never be the kind of thankful, and grateful people God desires us to be.

Often times, in giving thanks, we focus on our blessings and express our gratitude to God for them. But thanks should be on our lips every time. We can never say thank you enough to our parents, how much more to God. When thanksgiving becomes an integral part of your life, you will find that your attitude toward life will change. You will become more positive, gracious, loving, and humble.

The Scripture expressly states that in all things God works for our good if we love Him and are the called by Him (Romans 8 vs 28). God is perfect, and takes His time to prepare the called to serve appropriately His preplanned purposes. The preparation involves experiencing troubles, or difficulties, or rejection, and so on. Rest assured that such experiences are for His purpose.

Are you experiencing tribulations, or afflictions, perils, or distress, or persecution, or rejection? Whatever you are experiencing, thank God, not for your problems but for the strength He is building in you through the difficult experiences of your life. You can be sure that God’s perfect love will see you through, and at the end, you will be justified, and subsequently glorified, if you love Him, and are among the called by Him (Romans 8 vs 30).

Such experiences can come from anywhere, including your immediate family. You can suffer rejection from your spouse, your children, or parents, friends etc. God uses such to develop the needed qualities required for your service unto Him. Joseph suffered rejection, from his family, sold into slavery, put into prison for uncommitted offense, forgotten by those he helped, but at the long run God justified and glorified him that he became a Prime Minister in a great foreign country at his time.

Therefore, we should thank God, not for everything that happens to us but give Him thanks in everything. Evil does not come from God, so we should not thank Him for it. But when evil strikes, we can still be thankful for God’s presence and strength, and for the good that He will accomplish through the distress.

God's attitude is that if His people really believe Him, then no matter what happens in life they will know that He is big enough to handle it and to make it work out for their good, if they continue to have faith in Him. God desires a thankful people, not a murmuring, grumbling, fault-finding, complaining people. Joy and peace are found in believing, not in murmuring, grumbling, fault-finding, or complaining.

We can even develop a demanding attitude in our relationship with the Lord. We can get to the point that we become upset and aggravated when the Lord doesn't "come across" with everything we think we are entitled to "as King's kids." As His children, we do have rights, and we have an inheritance, but a humble attitude is a "must." Without humility, we will be unappreciative and presumptuous. You and I have multitudinous opportunities to complain on a regular basis. But all complaining does is open the door for the enemy. It doesn't solve problems; it just creates a breeding ground for greater problems. 

Let's learn to respond to the help we are already getting from our ‘Helper,’ the Holy Spirit, which actually we don't deserve, by developing an attitude of being always thankful. This is not just an occasional word of thanks, but a continual lifestyle of thanksgiving. The person who has developed an "attitude of thankfulness" is one who is thankful and grateful for every single thing that God is doing in his or her life day by day.

Prayer: Abba Father, my help comes from You, Who made heaven and the earth. I will forever be grateful for all You have done, and is doing, and is yet to do. Even when it seems that there is nothing to give thanks for, I will thank You for the privilege of my adoption as Your son, and for the gift of life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!