Becoming pro-active in thanksgiving
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV)
If you want this year to be a year of increasing awareness and fellowship of God’s presence, then you must learn and become proficient at thanksgiving. Learning to be grateful to God for the small or big things in life, whether natural or spiritual, is crucial for caring for God’s presence within the Temple of our bodies.
The verse above says, “in every thing give thanks”, for this is what God really wants us to do. A thankful spirit is a win-win for us. First, it is a spiritual sacrifice, acceptable and pleasant to the Father. When you give thanks, it is more than all the burnt offerings of the Old Testatment put to gather because you are the true worshipper created in Christ. If you love God, you will be pleased to offer thanksgiving, for it pleases His heart. The second win is that a thankful spirit mysteriously does wonders within us. I cannot fully explain it to you, but when you have a thankful heart, you set yourself up for an endless flow of the supernatural. Miracles easily happen to thankful hearts. You are doing yourself a favor by being thankful to the Father.
You should be pro-active in thanksgiving. That means you should look for a reason to be thankful. I shared with you a few days ago on building intimacy with the Spirit through fellowship and how talking with God continually is the cornerstone of building such intimacy. Well, let me take it further today. I say “thank you, Lord” many times a day in my heart, in my talking with Him. I look for reasons in the things around me. Sometimes when my kids are with me, I see reasons to thank Him for the kids He gave me. At other times I look at my wife and tell the Lord thank you for giving me such joy for a wife. At other times, I just keep thanking the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit or the blessing of the wisdom He has given me to know Him. I look for a reason to be thankful. Do not wait for that miracle or breakthrough. Provoke thanksgiving! If you look, you will see a reason to be thankful, and as you open up to give thanks, you are setting yourself up for the supernatural.
I sincerely desire in my heart that every single one of you reading these devotionals will come to know such an intimacy with the Holy Spirit this year that God’s presence will be a 24/7 experience for you. These things I share are my day to day walk with the Lord, and not just some article I read or sermon I listened to. Choose not to be grumpy, complaining, grumbling, etc this year. Choose to be thankful. Choose to see the good and give thanks for it while waiting for the best.
MEDITATE
Are you living in thanksgiving daily? Or is thanksgiving a part of your daily prayer routine only in your prayer closet?
APPLY THE WORD
Make up your mind that you will ceaselessly bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, constantly and at all times. Decide that your heart will be an altar of spiritual sacrifice, pleasant to the Lord, and not a place for complaining and grumbling.
PRAY
Take a moment and thank the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us in Christ.
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