RECOGNISING GOD’S HAND AND BEING THANKFUL
I guess the great challenge for every believer is that we don’t take the Lord’s blessings for granted. The Bible has so much to say about Thanks, and Thanksgiving, and we sure need to develop an “attitude of gratitude”, and to be continually aware and recognise how much the Lord is working in our life.
David tells us in Psalm 100:4 NKJV Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
I love the MESSAGE THAT SAYS Enter with the password: “Thank you!”.
As children, we had to be taught to say please and thank you many times as the reality is we were born unthankful, and have to learn how to appreciate all the things that come into our life.
Every day, I take time to say thank you for
God’s grace (His unmerited favour and mercy)
God’s continuous goodness
God’s constant everlasting love
God’s peace that surpasses our understanding
God’s Joy He places within us.
For every “good and perfect gift” He lavishes us with
For every breath I breath
For answered prayer
For God’s manifest presence
For Jesus and His awesome sacrifice and sinless blood.
For the Holy Spirit who wants to keep “filling my house”
For God’s manifest presence
For God’s so great Salvation
For continuing to teach me how to pray.
And the list goes on and on, and I never want to tire or take for granted all His blessings, for without Him I can do nothing. But then there have been so many times I have not recognised God’s hand in a situation, and did not take the opportunity to say thank You.
David in Psalm 100:4 goes on as he thinks about the Tabernacle and the Temple. and says we must move on to praise the Lord, and I am so glad I am included in the New Covenant and their is no veil stopping me from going into the Holy of Holies I have 24/7 access into the very throne room of our God Heb. 4:16 NKJV Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
I am saying all this, as I am have been reminded I believe by the Lord of the regular opportunities I have of not only to intercede for people, but also the opportunities of personally praying for people, just this week, a lady dying of cancer was very happy for me to pray with her. I visited a brother in hospital some time ago, I prayed with him, not knowing that in just a few hours the Lord would take him home. One of my past students rang me this week, she recently lost her husband, I am so thankful I could fellowship with her and pray for her as she returns to her ministry situation. It is so easy to just take these situations for granted.
I wrote this morning how the Lord quickly brought to my attention that there was a “fault” in my foundations. I am so thankful He did, and that with His help I could repent and set in place Biblical keys to see that I don’t need to go there again.
I guess I am saying, it would be good if we sat down regularly and give some thought to what happens in our daily life and how quickly we would begin to see how much more the Lord is involved in our lives than we often realise.
So my prayer is, I want to recognise more when God is working in me and through my life and that I learn more and more TO GIVE THANKS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART AMEN.
