We are reminded throughout scripture to give thanks in all circumstances, at all times, in all seasons, even when there are things going on around you that you are not thankful for. When we refer to scripture we find the bigger reasons to be thankful; the ones that, when our focus is lateral they are easily forgotten.
In 1 Chronicles we are reminded to give thanks AND praise because He is good and His love for us endures forever. His love endures (undergoes hardship without giving in, with acceptance and tolerance, remains the same and stands firm). Can you love someone with that kind of love? Certainly God is deserving of our gratitude and our having good things to say about Him to the rest of the world based on that alone, but the word of God doesn't stop there.
In 2 Chronicles we are told how the worshipers gathered with many instruments and raised their voices in the temple to praise God based on his goodness and enduring love alone. I'll just bet it wasn't quiet and "reverent." I can imagine a scene of great volume and exuberant praise! It wasn't a praise of petition, but rather an offering of praise. How did God respond? With His glorious presence in the form of a cloud which prevented the scheduled service to continue and allowed them to just simply "be" with Him. Being thankful and giving praise to God is so powerful that King Jehoshaphat sent an army of worshiping men ahead of the actual soldiers to sing thanks and praises. As they did so, their enemies were being ambushed and defeated before they even engaged in battle! THANKS AND PRAISE WAS THE FIRST WAVE! Do we even begin our prayers with thanks and praise?
There are multiple stories of people giving thanks and praise to God. They praised Him for His righteousness, for being trustworthy, for strength and protection, for salvation and favor, and for many miraculous acts. They praised Him in solitude and among many. They praised Him outside the temple, at the gates, and inside the temple. There were many ways that they thanked God for what He had done for them, but mostly they thanked Him for continuing to love them in spite of themselves.
Think of that person in your life whom you have labeled "the hardest to love." You spend great effort to love that person, and yet all your hard work seems to return void. You just cannot see where your efforts have made any difference at all in their life, and you certainly don't feel any warm fuzzies from them in return. How long can you continue to pour yourself into that person? When will you run out of patience, out of goodness, out of desire? Is your love unconditional, or do you have stipulations? Can YOU endure? God can.
Can we be thankful to a God for simply loving us in spite of ourselves? And even more, can we give thanks with a grateful heart? We can't begin to understand how big or how deep loving like God loves can be, but we can say "thank you" and actually mean it. We each have so many "things" or "situations" to be thankful for, but the biggest thing we should be thankful for is a God who will never leave us, and never stop loving us....no matter what we are.
There is power in praise and in being thankful. Not a power to be manipulated, but the power of His presence and His love. Let Him reign in your heart today based on love alone.
"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. Revelations 11:17
In 1 Chronicles we are reminded to give thanks AND praise because He is good and His love for us endures forever. His love endures (undergoes hardship without giving in, with acceptance and tolerance, remains the same and stands firm). Can you love someone with that kind of love? Certainly God is deserving of our gratitude and our having good things to say about Him to the rest of the world based on that alone, but the word of God doesn't stop there.
In 2 Chronicles we are told how the worshipers gathered with many instruments and raised their voices in the temple to praise God based on his goodness and enduring love alone. I'll just bet it wasn't quiet and "reverent." I can imagine a scene of great volume and exuberant praise! It wasn't a praise of petition, but rather an offering of praise. How did God respond? With His glorious presence in the form of a cloud which prevented the scheduled service to continue and allowed them to just simply "be" with Him. Being thankful and giving praise to God is so powerful that King Jehoshaphat sent an army of worshiping men ahead of the actual soldiers to sing thanks and praises. As they did so, their enemies were being ambushed and defeated before they even engaged in battle! THANKS AND PRAISE WAS THE FIRST WAVE! Do we even begin our prayers with thanks and praise?
There are multiple stories of people giving thanks and praise to God. They praised Him for His righteousness, for being trustworthy, for strength and protection, for salvation and favor, and for many miraculous acts. They praised Him in solitude and among many. They praised Him outside the temple, at the gates, and inside the temple. There were many ways that they thanked God for what He had done for them, but mostly they thanked Him for continuing to love them in spite of themselves.
Think of that person in your life whom you have labeled "the hardest to love." You spend great effort to love that person, and yet all your hard work seems to return void. You just cannot see where your efforts have made any difference at all in their life, and you certainly don't feel any warm fuzzies from them in return. How long can you continue to pour yourself into that person? When will you run out of patience, out of goodness, out of desire? Is your love unconditional, or do you have stipulations? Can YOU endure? God can.
Can we be thankful to a God for simply loving us in spite of ourselves? And even more, can we give thanks with a grateful heart? We can't begin to understand how big or how deep loving like God loves can be, but we can say "thank you" and actually mean it. We each have so many "things" or "situations" to be thankful for, but the biggest thing we should be thankful for is a God who will never leave us, and never stop loving us....no matter what we are.
There is power in praise and in being thankful. Not a power to be manipulated, but the power of His presence and His love. Let Him reign in your heart today based on love alone.
"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. Revelations 11:17