BEING THANKFUL

1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I've been reminded recently of the importance and the power of being thankful to God in all circumstances. I don't mean for the bad stuff we're dealing with, but in the midst of the bad stuff. 

If the enemy can get us to focus on what's not right and what we don't have, then we start moaning and complaining which opens the door to the bad stuff. (1 Cor. 10:10) But if we choose to focus on all we do have and all we can do and start to thank God for His great grace and goodness, it releases us from the enemy's hold.

In the midst of the pain, the sickness, the fear, maybe the lack of finance, or whatever it is, can I encourage you to start thanking God in faith that He's bringing you out of it, thanking God for the victory over it, the deliverance from it. All through the day, "Thank You Lord for delivering me from this situation. Thank You Lord for healing me." God wants us to know it will come to an end and you will be free from it if we'll do it His way. God is a delivering God.

I'm so thankful He has delivered me from the back pain I had, and I know He's delivering me from other things too. I'm not saying it's easy and sometimes a walk of faith is done when what we see and feel shouts otherwise, but God has promised He will deliver us if we'll believe Him and thank Him for it before we see it or feel it.

God is asking us to focus on the promise not the problem. When we focus on our problem it magnifies it, but if we focus on  God and His promises we'll see God turn things around and it all comes back to being thankful even though we may not see it yet.

Psalm 107:1-3 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.