Gratefully Yours

1 Thessalonians 5:¹⁸ “give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV, emphasis added).

In Philippians 4, Paul shows us practical steps to take to find courage for gratitude. The first is, WORRY ABOUT NOTHING! The second is, PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING! Pray about every detail, and yesterday we saw from scriptures the J.B. Phillips Translation of 1 Peter 5:⁷ “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern.” (emphasis added).  So, so comforting. We also saw that the data from an extensive study done by insurance companies showed that people who attend church every week live on average 5.7 years longer. Have you ever left church and felt so much lighter?

It is because God has taken your yoke and burdens away. We must learn to exchange our burdens for His peace. We must learn not to swallow our worries but to throw our worries at Him. Someone said, “When You Swallow Your Worries Your Stomach Keeps Score.” It does, so stop it. James 4:² “…You do not have because you do not ask God.” (NIV). Ask God for peace. Ask Him. The key here is that, no problem is too big or too small to pray about. Pray about everything, Pray about every single thing! Take it to the Lord!

#3. THANK GOD IN ALL THINGS! Again, studies show that the healthiest human emotion is gratitude, not love. Love ranks up there as one of the healthiest human emotions. When you are loved, and you give and receive love, is high up there. However, gratitude is higher. The healthiest human emotion is gratitude, even higher than love. In fact, love cannot work with ingratitude. Studies have shown that gratitude actually increases your immunity, and ability to fight off diseases. Wow. Philippians 4:⁶ “…but in everything …with thanksgiving…” (NKJV). Grateful people are happy. It is almost impossible to find an ungrateful, happy person.

Ungrateful people are not happy. Happy people are grateful people, and grateful people are happy people. The Good News translation puts Philippians 4:⁶ this way, “…always asking him with a thankful heart.” You can only always ask Him with a thankful heart, because you can only get access to His presence with thanksgiving. We are in the eighth month, seven months gone already in this year. Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. How can I be thankful in every situation? The key is, you look not at what you have lost. Instead, look at what you have left, because your destiny is not tied to what you have lost. Your destiny is tied to what you have left.

Prayer (song): What have You not done for me? What have You not done for me?… Amen!