For thought and meditation

[rl69]

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

—Philippians 4:4

Sometimes the last thing we want to do is to give thanks. It’s one thing to give thanks when the bills are paid and our health is good and the future is bright. But when there is a sudden, even tragic, turn in our lives, it isn’t as easy to give thanks.

The Bible tells us, however, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 106:1). Sometimes we feel good. And sometimes we’re not feeling so good at all. Yet we are to give thanks to the Lord.

Think of Job who, in one day, basically lost everything. Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong. Yet he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

We need to have what we might describe as a theology of thanksgiving. We need to understand that thanks should be offered to God regardless of our circumstances. Sometimes our praise will come easily, and other times, quite frankly, it will be a sacrifice.

For Job to offer praise to God in a moment like that was a sacrifice of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” That means we are to verbalize our praise.

We were created to give glory to God. The highest use of our vocal chords, of our lips, of our mouths, of the formation of our words is to give honor and glory to God. God wants to hear us give Him praise. We need to give God what He deserves, and that is glory

[buckwheatpaul]

What a wonderful teaching....God wants our unconditional loyalty and when things go wrong we still need to praise Him....that is the very hard part of the lesson. But we often lose sight of fact that all we have came from God! It is his! I am still working on the part that when things go wrong to give praise to the Lord.....it is baby steps for me but I pray that I am learning that lesson! Thanks Ronnie.....Paul

[USMC87]

Amen, Praise God !!!!!

[Thundarstick]

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to develop an "attitude of gratitude "!

Notice I said "develop", it don't come naturally!

Don't forget to be thankful for the challenges that shape us into what God wants us to be.

[Blackwater]

Amen Tstick! With the storm that just went through here, it's revealing when folks speak of the damage in the aftermath of any sort of challenge or catastrophe. Some reflect the attitude of "entitlement," while others always just seem to be thankful for whatever they have left. Same situation, two opposite reactions to it and attitudes toward it. Amazing, isn't it?