Thankfulness

Nov 12, 2020Written Devotionals

“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  1 Thessalonians 5:18    NKJV

We have a hard time in this life remembering to thank Him for the blessings of life which He imparts to us daily.  We seem to struggle with the concept of giving thanks in everything.  This seems counter-intuitive. Why would we give thanks in everything when not everything in this life is good? 

If we truly believed the words of the Bible that we read daily, then we could praise Him in everything.  If we actually believed the Word of God and what is promised to us, then we would always know that we are overcomers in this life in Him.  No matter how things may appear, we have deliverance and victory. All we have to do is believe and keep walking forward in faith.  Regardless of our present situation, He has already prepared and established our victory. If we believe that, then we can praise and give thanks in everything.  This is His will for us. 

In 1665 in England, there was a widower with four children.  He had lost his wife and when the plague moved through London with devastating results on the population this man, who had already suffered one great loss, was living in fear that he would lose his children as well. 

He attended a church service and received a message about trusting God even when the things of the world fail.  He read the verses that night to his children.  As they slept, he was in anguish with his battle against fear.  As he focused on the Word and its promises that night, he gained victory over that fear.  He came to the place where he put his trust for the well-being of his children and his own life in the hands of Jesus and not in himself. 

The plague came and went and all of his children survived, untouched by the plague.  But the next year was 1666, the year the great fire blazed through London.  He had a warehouse for his business and all of his present and future was tied to that warehouse.  The fires burned through London but this man had learned the lesson the previous year, to put all his trust in the Lord and thank Him in every situation.  With a heart filled with thankfulness for God’s faithfulness, he put all his trust in the Lord, the very God that had saved his little ones when the nation was devastated by the plague.  Although fire destroyed much of London as well as the area around his warehouse, his warehouse with all its contents was spared from the flame. 

This is the power of a thankful heart and this is why we are taught to give thanks in everything.  Develop a thankful heart that trusts in Jesus no matter how things may appear today.  For He is faithful and has already prepared and established your victory and deliverance in Him.  

J Todd Hostetler

www.cityonahillTC.org

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