CHURCH BULLETIN

28 February, 2016

PASTOR'S CORNER

Topic: Fulfilling God’s will in Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you". There are so many scriptures asking us to give thanks to God for various reasons like: God is good, merciful, kind, His love endures for ever and so on. Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being thankful.

Feeling and expressing appreciation to God is really good for us. Just as human being likes to be appreciated God is to be much more appreciated. God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us. It is for our good to be reminded that everything we have is a gift from the Almighty God. When we fail to remember this we tend to think that it is by our power or effort we attain or achieve all we possess. Thanksgiving keeps our hearts in right relationship with the Giver of all good gifts.

Regular thanksgiving to God reminds us of how much we do have. Naturally, human beings are prone to covetousness by focusing on what others have that they do not have thereby not being contented and not giving thanks to God for failing to see what they have. When we focus on the blessings rather than wants, we will be happier and see more reasons to appreciate God for things we could have taken for granted.

According to First Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”, we are to be thankful not only for the things we like, but for the circumstances we don’t like. When we purpose to thank God for everything that He allows to come into our lives, we keep bitterness at bay. We cannot be both thankful and bitter at the same time. We do not thank Him for evil, but that He is sustaining us through it. We don’t thank Him for harm He did not cause, but we thank Him when He gives us the strength to endure it (2 Corinthians 12:9). We thank Him for His promise that “all things will work together for the good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel thankful for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be thankful. We can hurt and still be thankful. We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward God. That is what the Bible calls a “sacrifice of praise”. Giving thanks to God keeps our hearts in right relationship with Him and saves us from a host of harmful emotions and attitudes that will rob us of the peace God wants us to experience.

So how can you give thanks in all circumstances? There’s only one way: Jesus’s way. Look to the joy set before you. If the future joy God promises is real and you believe Him, there is no circumstance that can steal your thanksgiving. Make conscious effort to ALWAYS give thanks to God and as you do this God will do greater things in your lives in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Rev Joseph Lamidi