Give Thanks

In life, each of us will experience different struggles, different situations that lead to happiness in our lives and at the same time some of the situations will lead to sorrow. Oftentimes we find ourselves focusing so much on the current situation at hand that we fail to see the bigger picture in play. Please read Psalm 100, 105, 106, 107 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. In each of these Psalm’s, the psalmist or the author of the epistle, encourages us to give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 100 to acknowledge that the LORD is God, that he is the creator of everything on earth and in heaven.We can be thankful that everything has come from God, through God and is to him. (Romans 11:36) Job expressed this even in the midst of his sufferings. The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 105 of God’s faithfulness. We see this more fully expressed through his Son Jesus Christ death, burial and resurrection from the dead as read in the four gospels. Probably more so as one just sits down and read the Revelation to John. God is faithful and for this reason we should be able to give thanks with a grateful heart for all that he has done for us. As we read Psalm 106 about Israel’s unfaithfulness to God they found a reason to give thanks to him even as he disciplined them for their idolatry. If we are honest with ourselves, we have reason to give thanks to the Lord for disciplining us as his children when we have been unfaithful to him. If the Lord doesn’t discipline us when we sin, as we claim to be his then we are telling ourselves a lie. It’s often during those times of being disciplined by the Lord that we learn to give thanks to him for his deliverance not just from our sins but through other situations as well. When was the last time you rejoiced in the Lord even when life wasn’t going the way you wanted it to? I don’t know about you but I’m having to learn how to constantly pray about everything all the time. Learning to rejoice in the Lord in all situations and learning to pray constantly helps me to understand that I can give thanks to the Lord God in everything because he has either caused it to happen or allowed it to happen so that his Son Jesus Christ is formed in me. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Learning to focus on God is often a struggle because I so often look at the circumstance right in front of me. If you find yourself in the same boat as I am, you can give thanks to the Lord no matter the situation because I am learning and I hope that you learn as well that God’s grace is sufficient for us as his power is perfected in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Let me encourage to take some time this weekend and spend some time in prayer just thanking God as you count your blessings for all that he has done for you.