Focus: Be Thankful To God!

Text: 1Thes.5:18

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Thanking God is God's will, and doing God's will gladdens the heart.

God wants you to find reasons to thank Him amid the ups and downs of life, because He is well pleased when you show Him gratitude. Don't let the troubles in your life make you not see reasons to be thankful to God! The ugly side of life is not all the sides of life. Don't let the devil blindfold you and make it extremely difficult for you to see the things God is doing in your life!

In the 18th century, Matthew Henry told a story of how he was mugged and his purse stolen from him. But as he reflected back on this miserable experience, he wrote in his diary, "Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much, and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed." This godly man, with the lens of faith, saw enough reason to thank God even in a messy situation. He thanked the Lord for not being the one that robbed others and for not losing his life in the process. He thanked God having not been robbed before and for losing his purse without losing his life.

God would not require you to thank Him if He had done absolutely nothing to earn it. Look inwards and around you, and you will see that God is doing a whole lot in your life to deserve your hearty gratitude. 

Look back and see what God had already saved you from. Be thankful to God at all times and in every situation!

Habakkuk declares so boldly, "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab.3:17-18). God is worthy of your gratitude, regardless of what you are going through. Thank God not only for the good He has done but also for the evil He has prevented from happening to you. Thank God also for the evil that has not swallowed you, for the sickness that has not claimed your life, and for the tight corner situations that have not prevailed over your spirit. Jesus Christ said to Peter, "I have prayed for you that your faith fail not." 

Regardless of whatever you lose, you must not lose your faith, for your victory and testimony are in your faith.

The New International Version says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I say to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Be thankful to God in all things!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter