Have you given thanks yet? The pathway to thanksgiving.
This week Pastor Luke preached on the power of thanksgiving. Giving thanks takes our eyes off of our circumstances and emotions and puts it onto Jesus. It changes our countenance and our perspective, acknowledging that God is working out all things for our good and His glory.
The Apostle Paul was a great demonstration of thanksgiving in all circumstances. He was shipwrecked, whipped, beaten with rods and pelted with stones among many other severe afflictions and yet he was thankful in all things. This attitude should be the goal and reality for followers of Jesus.
Four steps to help us get there:
1. Acknowledge God in your life.
We need to give credit where credit is due by letting go of our possessiveness.
Matthew 5:3: ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In other words: blessed are the ones who have broken the chain of the oppressor of self. It is a blessedness of possessing nothing.
Getting to this point does not require a fight but a surrender. We need to open our hands to
God and acknowledge that everything we have is the Lords. This acknowledgement will keep us humble.
2. Learn to trust God
Our journey with God is filled with endless opportunities to grow and learn to trust Him. The Scriptures are filled with people who GREW in their faith. They LEARNED to trust God in every situation.
A lot of people are afraid to go all in with Jesus because they fear losing what they perceive to be good. We need to bring our situations, dreams, hopes and feeling under the jurisdiction of God’s character and purposes. We need to learn to trust Him in each and every circumstance.
3. Deal with your doubt
Doubting is not a sin, but remaining a doubter is. Perpetual doubt is a close cousin to cynicism and comes when we haven’t wrestled with God through our situations. This creates spiritual baggage which takes away the joy available to us and suffocates the life of Christ within us.
Doubt causes ingratitude and maximizes the situation and minimizes God.
We have to remember and live out Psalm 100:4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name”.
4. Start Thanking
The goal is in everything to give thanks. We need to thank God for anything and for all things.
If you don’t know where to start with thanksgiving; think about and thank God for you your salvation.
