Shalom light! Let your light shine and let the joy of the LORD be your strength! He is your eben-ezer (stone of help, strong no. 72, Hebrew). Celebrate him with all your might! Shout, dance, sing, acclaim!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits!
(Psalm 103:2, NKJV)
" In every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to GOD; for this is the will of GOD for you in CHRIST JESUS.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18, AMP)
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to GOD; and the peace of GOD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS.
(Philippians 4:6, NKJ)
David used to say, " Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not any of his benefits! "(Psalms 103:2, S21). He knew that it is possible to despise, to take for granted the goodness of the LORD. Gratitude is spontaneous after a victory, a success, a fulfillment. But what about before and after? During periods of waiting, trial, and persecution? After a failure? After a disappointment? The loss of a loved one? A layoff? Are you grateful while climbing the mountain or do you wait until you get to the top to give thanks? So far the LORD has helped you (1 Samuel 7:12). What about you? Has your praise stopped along the way?
Through his Word, GOD exhorts us to be thankful in all circumstances. Whatever prayers we pray to him, we must be thankful for what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. It is then that his peace will keep our hearts and minds in JESUS CHRIST.
Gratitude is a mark of reverence, a demonstration of faith, and a proof of maturity. Gratitude is also a testimony of our relationship with GOD. Whether it is raining, snowing, freezing, windy, or sunny, GOD is good. GOD is good at all times. We are justified in JESUS CHRIST (Romans 3:23-25, Romans 5:1). But being in CHRIST does not exempt us from challenges, pain, and difficult times. Being in CHRIST allows us not only to overcome but to overcome them in the right way.
It is written, " Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20-21, NKJV)
Il est écrit " Le malheur atteint souvent le juste, Mais l'ETERNEL l'en délivre toujours. Il garde tous ses os, Aucun d'eux n'est brisé. " (Psaumes 34:20-21, LSG). Bones have 5 roles spread out in three functions.
Mechanical function: bones support body structures, protect internal organs, and (in conjunction with muscles) facilitate movement.
Metabolic function: they are involved in blood cell formation, calcium metabolism, and mineral storage.
Hematopoietic function: some bones in the human body produce blood cells such as red and white blood cells and platelets.
Because GOD guards the bones of the righteous, there is nothing that the righteous cannot overcome.
GOD is Love, Truth and Holiness. Holiness is because Love and Truth are together. Everything GOD does, is done out of love and in truth. Love exists because GOD loves unconditionally. Truth exists because everything in GOD is truth. All things exist through him, and he sustains all things by his word. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Transcendent, and Immutable. He has no desire and no need to lie. Furthermore, he hates lying (Proverbs 6:16-17, Proverbs 12:22, Deuteronomy 5:20, Leviticus 19:11-12). Lying is contrary to love. The lie manipulates while truth liberates. Just as a cocoa tree cannot produce papayas, GOD who is Truth cannot ask us to lie. He would not ask us to be grateful in all circumstances if it were not possible.
There is nothing GOD can ask of us that is beyond our ability. Even if it is something beyond our ability, if we trust him, he will enable us to do it. He is our creator, he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows exactly what we are capable of. He knows all that has been, all that is, will be, and could be. He designs the times and directs the circumstances. When GOD asks you to do something seemingly impossible, know that he is also informing you of its possibility. Nothing can justify ingratitude to GOD.
Ungratefulness is a choice. You will always have at least five reasons to be thankful. So far the LORD has not abandoned you (1 Samuel 7:12). Where would you be today, who would you be today without the help of the LORD? Do you know that there are thousands of people in the world who pray for what you have? For what you despise, what you take for granted? Do you know how many people die every day without hearing the Gospel? Do you know how many people consciously and unconsciously make pacts with the devil to get what you have? Ingratitude always precedes covetousness. Ingratitude makes you despise what you have and idealize what you do not have.
Aspire to better while being grateful for what you already have. Being grateful in all circumstances is not pretending that everything is perfectly fine. GOD encourages us to express our needs and trust him in adversity. Faith does not deny reality. Faith does not pretend. Faith believes what GOD says and does what GOD said. Faith relies on GOD. You can't rely on GOD without first recognizing that you need him. You can't rely on GOD and at the same time rely on circumstances. Either you sit on the seat GOD has in store for you, or you sit somewhere else. The seat of impressions, false reasoning, lies, unbelief, ingratitude, and death.
You don't trust GOD because you think everything will happen the way you want it to 🙂 GOD is not your employee. He is not the executor of your wishes. You trust GOD because you know that he will, he can, and that whatever may happen he will do something at the right time. Either he will do what you ask him to do, or he will do better than you ask him to do. In the meantime, what do you choose: gratitude or ingratitude?
I choose gratitude. I say to my soul, I will not stop thanking the LORD. I will not stop praising, I will not stop worshipping, I will not stop, I will not stop. I know he will never stop loving me, listening to me, watching me, delivering me, instructing me, strengthening me, lifting me up, straightening me, comforting me, blessing me, forgiving me. I won't praise him just because I am alive, because I have a grace that my neighbor does not have, or because I consider that my situation is better than my neighbor's. I will bless him because he is always good, and he is present in every circumstance. Furthermore, because I have the grace to know him and the privilege to approach him. That's why " THANK YOU " will always precede my requests. Is it easy every day? NO, absolutely not. Is it possible every day? By His grace YES, YES, and again YES. How can it be done? By cultivating the habit of saying thank you for everything, the habit of giving thanks, the habit of interceding, of listening to testimonies, asking the grace to know him and to be attached to him.
Ingratitude is a choice, so is gratitude. I pray that you choose gratitude. Even when you are angry, in tears, even when things are not going well, when you don't understand, be grateful. GOD does not ask you to pretend, to multiply empty phrases, to say what you don't mean, to say phrases you don't understand or to do as your neighbor does. He does not ask you to pretend that your life is perfect. He is asking you to be thankful for what is going well, for what he has done, is doing, and will do 🙂 Along the way, he will give you his joy, his peace and keep your thoughts in CHRIST.
** Shalom = Greetings and peace in Hebrew
Suggestions to go futher
- One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp
- All of Grace), by Charles Spurgeon
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