Give Thanks in Every Circumstance

Our Monday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Lahoma:

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:18

I want to share a great truth with all of you that the Lord has been revealing to me anew these past few weeks. It is the great power and beauty of giving thanks in ALL circumstances. Giving Thanks…. is something that we focus on usually around the end of November each year as we gather with our family and friends for turkey and pie… we say thanks when we pray, we say thanks to people who hold the door for us or give us gifts, but consider that God wants us to LIVE day by day with an attitude of thanksgiving… no matter what the circumstances are that we face. I know that there will be readers out there who look at this and abruptly stop reading right here because they are thinking “there is NO way I am ever going to give thanks for _________!!!) (You fill in the blank, it’s usually different for every person although many people face similar issues that you can’t ever imagine being thankful for.)

Why are we told to give thanks for every circumstance? Because, the Apostle Paul had learned how to use this powerful spiritual weapon of thanksgiving against his adversary, the devil. When God’s people walk in perpetual thanksgiving regardless of the outward appearance, they learn a deeper level of contentment that the world doesn’t give to them and also can’t take away from them. The devil works so hard to keep our eyes on the horrible things that come against us, our families, our marriages, our health, our church, our country, our world… why? Because if he can get God’s people to murmur and be discontent, they take their eyes off their Source of Strength and Provision (GOD) and onto the waves and the lies of the enemy. When we make a choice of our wills to give thanks, the devil HATES that because he wants to hear us question and struggle and bend under the weight of his assaults, he loses that battle because we have resisted him and he must flee (James 4:7). When we thank God IN these circumstances, it turns our eyes on God and off the source of our pain. When we choose to walk in grace and love and thankfulness, it creates a beautiful fragrance before the Lord, it moves the heart of God and He responds in unexpected and supernatural ways on our behalf.

When I consider being thankful for a situation that I know I face and it will be hard, I am also reminded of when Jesus was sitting at the Passover dinner just before His arrest? Remember when He took the bread in His hands and blessed it? (Luke 22:19) I am sure He knew what was about to take place…. Can you imagine what He must have felt like as He looked at that piece of bread at that particular moment in history????? He knew when they instituted the first Passover supper meal in Moses’ day that this would be a symbol of the broken body of the Messiah on the cross…. As Jesus took it in His hands, HE blessed it…. AND gave thanks…… I have always thought how hard that must have been for Him with full knowledge of that night before it happened. My Jesus did that for me. He gave thanks. I believe that this same power of thanksgiving in adversity can overtake us in the midst of something that seems impossible and it will give us a strength that does not come from our abilities but from God’s ability. At the moment you do, you will feel a fresh sense of unity with your Lord and Master, Jesus, Who KNOWS what that feels like to give thanks in all circumstances, and HE will fight for you and through you but it will be done to the glory of God.

So, my beloved brothers and sisters, thank GOD in the midst of WHATEVER you are facing today, and don’t fight it, simply lift your eyes to God and say a prayer of thanksgiving. You don’t have to thank God “for” the circumstance, but you can choose to thank Him “IN” the circumstance…. See the difference? Thank God in the midst of the fiery furnace. Be grateful before the Lord in prayer for the chance to see HIM glorified in the midst of the impossible. Thank Him for standing by you and walking with you through the fire of the trials you face. Do you think God doesn’t know what you are facing? He does. He is waiting to see if you will trust Him and keep your eyes securely fixed on Him. Will you maintain your thankfulness in spite of feast or famine? Life or death? Financial success or failure? Health or illness? Our thankfulness should not depend on external things but on our soul drawing even closer to God in the communion of thanksgiving through such times, it is how we can “count it all JOY when we fall into diverse trials for the testing of our faith produces endurance!” (James 1:2) Our circumstances will change like the winds or waves of the sea, what does not change is our God and His ability to show you a more excellent way. Learn to give thanks IN all circumstances, for I can testify that this IS God’s will for you in Christ Jesus!

Shalom, sister Lahoma

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