LEARNING TO BE THANKFUL

I have used a statement in previous blogs, “LET THE WORD WORK“I heard someone say it in passing conversation (nearly 20 years ago), but it rang a chord in my heart, and I have never forgotten it. These last couple of years it has become a daily prayer that the Word would work in my personal life more and more,

There is no doubt that we personally are the major key in letting the Word work in us, so we need to learn to give quality time daily to read and meditate on the Word of God, and asking the Lord to quicken (make alive) God’s Word in our lives more and more.

Equally, there are those awesome times when God sovereignly (out of the blue!!!) quickens His Word to us. I had that experience this morning. I have 6 or 7 apps. on my phone that gives me a daily Bible verse to read, and today virtually every one of them included the word THANKSGIVING, I strongly felt the Lord say to me, I need to be more thankful, more often.

The reality is because of our sinful nature we are born unthankful, we need (for example) to constantly tell our children “say please”, and say “thank you”. We need a revelation that WITHOUT HIM WE CAN DO NOTHING.

I looked in my Concordance and noted the word “Thanks”, and thanksgiving” and “thankful” are used around 40 times in the Word of God. May I suggest we do a word study and look at each verse and see the connection and context of why it is so important to give thanks.

Let me highlight two truths from one verse on this awesome truth.

Eph. 5:18-20 NKJV Be filled (continually) with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, GIVING THANKS ALWAYS giving for ALL things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Please note we must give thanks FOR ALL THINGS, there will be many many times in our personal life when bad, negative things can happen. This in normal in the life of the every believer. it is easy to start to complain, but we need that revelation that our Sovereign God knows what He is doing and why He has permitted those things to come into our life, and the end result WILL ALWAYS BE FOR OUR GOOD. ROM. 8:28.

Giving thanks is also an ESSENTIAL KEY to maintain the Spirit filled life.

Let us develop an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE, and learn to be truly thankful IN ALL THINGS. amen