We have learned so far that all of
God's promises have come to pass in Jesus Christ. All of His
promises are therefore for us, today. And because it is, all things
are ours (1 Corinthians 3:21-23). This world, life and death, all
things present and all things to come. This might sound fictional
and not true, but that is what the Word of God says and we hold on
to that truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and if we
hold on to Him, we have it all. Everything is ours because we
belong to Him, all glory to God! We are part of His Kingdom now
already and we can therefore walk with the authority given from
Above on this earth, knowing who we are in Christ.
And because all these wonderful
amazing privileges are ours, we cannot do anything else but be
thankful for all God has done for us. The Word tells us to always
be thankful:
"And do not be drunk with wine,
in which is dissipation; but be filled 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 for all things to God the Father in the Name of our
Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:18-20
"Rejoice always, pray without
ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 2 Thessalonians
5:16-18
"Give thanks to the
Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." 1
Chronicles 16:34
We must give thanks to God in
everything and for all things. We give thanks to Him because He is
good and He has given us all things. How wonderful! So many things
to be grateful for. This week go and write down everything that you
can be grateful for. Have you thanked God for any of them? His Word
tells us to give thanks in literally everything. That is one of the
reasons why we pray before we eat, we thank God for the gift of
food and with His blessing on it, the food is blessed too. Now to
literally follow through with thanking God for everything, we will
be thanking Him the whole day and not doing much else. The Word
here is telling us that we must have a lifestyle of gratitude
before the Lord. We must live and commune with Him within, being
grateful for everything. Of course you can tell Him that you are
thankful anytime, I just mean that sometimes that is not
practically possible. A thankful heart and lifestyle is what God
wants.
At the beginning of last year I had
a sporting injury where I tore the tendon in my foot. For weeks I
couldn't get out of bed without crutches, I couldn't walk, I
couldn't drive, I couldn't exercise, I couldn't even take my cup of
tea to where I am sitting and writing. I learned to be grateful
again. Grateful that I can exercise, that I have the
ability to, instead of looking up to doing it. Grateful that I can
drive my own car, instead of moaning about the traffic. Grateful
that I can take the stairs, instead of waiting for the lift.
Grateful that I can do my own shopping, instead of moaning that I
have to do it. There are so many things to be grateful for, many.
My foot is completely healed by God's grace and healing power and I
walk with thanksgiving towards Him.
We all have so many things to be
grateful for. Think of them this week; write them down and thank
God for them. And most importantly start living a life of
gratitude. Then you won't covet what others have, you won't trample
over others to be seen, you won't degrade others in order to look
better yourself, you won't. You will live alongside God in His
Kingdom, you will look at this life from His perspective and you
will be eternally grateful for all He has in store for you now and
in your life to come.
Thank you Father for all the
blessings in our lives. Thank you for giving us so much. We love
and adore You. You have given us so many things to be grateful for.
We want to live a life honouring all that You have done for us,
glorifying Your Name. We want to lift You on high. All glory to
You. Amen