IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS!

IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS

When realities and expectations are the same, there is a sense of fulfillment; invariably, sense of fulfillment fills us with gladness. Every human being is made happy whenever progress happens! That is the way God made us. So, to a large extent, we can safely deduce that a man’s sense of happiness is in direct proportion to his sense of progress. When set goals are being achieved, visions are being realized, and dreams are being fulfilled. When there is no miscarriage of vision, no abortion of purpose, and dreams are not becoming nightmares; joy, gladness, and happiness will be the order of the day!  All the conditions above cannot but give a man a sense of fulfillment and ultimately make him happy. Success is sweet and pleasant especially when you succeed in the right thing—I mean succeeding in the reason for which you were born! I know that succeeding in the purpose for which we were born does not happen overnight; it is success in daily and short term goals that culminates in success in destiny.

 12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;
 13 That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;
 14 That our oxen may be well-laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets.
 15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD! Psalm 144:12-15 (NKJV)

People who are in the conditions and state described above will easily praise God, give Him thanks, and be greatly encouraged and motivated to dream more and have new visions.

TEMPTATIONS TO WATCH FOR

However, if your conditions in life right now are nothing but the opposite of the conditions described above; you may fall into some temptations. You are most vulnerable to discouragement, hopelessness, envy, jealousy, critical and judgmental spirit, moodiness, and the worst of all, unthankfulness.

My intention for writing this is not to justify our failures and shortcomings; rather my intention is to encourage and let us see that though we might have failed to achieve certain goals, and things might not have really happened as expected, yet that has not made us failures. God is not through with you, so don’t write yourself off and give up. Truly, there may be a number of reasons for failure; but that is not my focus in this message.

Even when we fail in anything we set to do, to have, or to accomplish; we must still have right and positive attitudes or else we will become darkened and vain in our thinking. And one of the positive attitudes we need to possess is thankfulness to God. Thankfulness to God opens you up to God’s grace and favor to succeed in life. I’m not saying you should be celebrating your failures; investigate into your failures as they happen, make corrections and adjustments that are necessary, and move on. But if you become unthankful because you fail, your mind will become darkened and you will be grounded—unable to move forward anymore!

“because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” – Rom1: 21 (NKJV)

“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live”.  1Thes5:22 (MSG)

I love this! Thank God no matter what happens. This may be a difficult thing for a natural and carnal man to do—to thank God when expectations are not matched with realities. A natural and carnal man will react, agitate, complain, murmur against God, and be frustrated. However, there is a way God wants those who belong to Christ to live in adversity and failure—that is thankfulness!

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

Jesus demonstrated thankfulness at the tomb of Lazarus! He didn’t go there to celebrate death, rather, He went there to teach us that God is able to make all things (including our failures, disappointments, and all the negatives) to work together for our good provided we possess right attitudes. Provided we love God enough to thank Him even when things are going awry! Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me”. He said this even when Lazarus was still dead and stinking in the tomb. What an attitude of faith and confidence in God! Thankfulness is a demonstration of living faith and confidence in God’s Person and ability to turn unpalatable situation around for our good.

Don’t ever believe the lies of the devil; he loves to paints bad pictures of your situation, and makes it appear hopeless and irredeemable. Remember what devil spoke to Patriarch Job through his own wife, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die” – Job 2:9. Don’t curse God no matter what happens. If you curse God you will truly die; but if you bless God you will live and tell the story of God’s faithfulness.

Let us learn how to give thanks to God in all things and at all times, and praise our way out of logjams and setbacks of life. We can learn a lot about thanking and praising God in adversity from this short prophetic poem and psalm of Prophet Habakkuk.

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls;
 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. Hab.3:17-19

Dear friend, as you cultivate this positive attitude of thanking God all through life, I see you succeeding where you have failed before, I see your sorrow turned to joy, your mourning turned to dancing, your lack turned to abundance; I see you moving forward and thanking God in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

If this message blesses you, first give thanks to God, then give us your feedback, and forward the same message to your friends, families, and enemies.