The Key

1 Thessalonians 5:¹⁸ “No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (LB)

One of the things that keeps people from being grateful is when they are stuck in the previous chapter. Your life is like a book if you get to a chapter where tough things happen. Finish the chapter, close it, and then move to the next chapter. But most times, people get stuck in that chapter. The truth is you can never know how the story of your life will end. You can never know how glorious the story of your life is if you keep reading the same chapter. Some are stuck on the same page of how people treated them. Let it go! A new chapter has begun. You have permission to turn the page in the Name of Jesus.

When you read the Book of Psalms, you see the Psalmists express emotions, but they will allow reason to rule. The Psalmist will say, “I almost slid until I went into Your house, and I saw, I discovered, and my reasoning was open”. The Book of Psalms is a very emotional, vulnerable, and honest Book. But one thing you see consistently is that the Psalmists always allow their mind to overrule their emotions. They allow the facts to overrule their feelings. Your mind has to be stronger than your feelings otherwise your feelings will wreck your life. Feelings are fleeting and easily manipulated. But the truth remains the truth. I encourage you to have daily confessions. You can come up with your own or use the “I Am” confessions from 2022.

The truth is you may not feel like what you are confessing. But you are a child of God, and your mind will affirm it because that is the truth. You are seen, you are heard, you are cherished, you are beloved. You are! Your feelings may say you are a wretch, you are nothing, just look at you. But the truth remains the fact of God’s Word. And all this is tied to taking every opportunity to be grateful regardless of how you feel. C. Neil Strait says, “If you have forgotten the language of gratitude, you will never be on speaking terms with happiness.” So powerful! The reason you are not happy is not because God does not love you, or that person jilted you, or xyz did not happen to you. It is because you are ungrateful. “But Pastor, how can I be grateful when nothing is happening?” That is the language of an ungrateful person.

You are alive today and that is a big deal! Do you know how many people have passed on since January? Some of you have had several close shaves, but you are still here. That is enough reason to say Thank you to God. Are you going to be that person that goes to the God of heaven and says, “Thank You” from your heart? When you do, you will be amazed at what God will do because you will end up with more, in the Name of Jesus.

Prayer (song): Because of who You are, I give You glory. Because of who You are, I give You praise. Because of who You are, I will lift my voice and say, Lord, I worship You… Amen!