The Man of Thankfulness
​4/6/13
There's power in thankfulness.  It should be a part of our daily walk.  The enemy wants us to take our eyes off Jesus and focus on anything and everything that isn't quite perfect.  He likes us to shift our attention to our problems.  The thing is, our problems are not difficult for God to solve at all.  He can fix anything with but a breath or whisper.  Nothing is too hard for Him to help become or reach its potential.  Our problems have a purpose that is beyond our comprehension.  There is much more going on behind the scenes than we can imagine.  In His wisdom, we must walk through some tough situations, instead of seeing them resolved according to our vision of success.  He promises to stay with us through them all.  He intends for us to finish our race, fight the good fight, pick ourselves up by the bootstraps, and carry on to the finish line.  The devil wants to sideline us, make us give up, make us quit in the middle, make us think negatively about our situations, lose confidence in God, count God out, etc.  One of the ways we tell that snake to get outta here is to bring the truth of thankfulness into the picture.  You start listing all the blessings and attribute them to God's provision.  The devil can't stick around to hear that stuff.  He hates it.  I kind of figure Lucifer wasn't thankful in heaven, what do you think?  That led to some pretty nasty stuff.  But thankfulness is that powerful.  It is like turning on the light in the darkness of your circumstances.  It lifts your spirits and encourages you in tough times.  It reminds you of things He's done for you and the times He's come through on your behalf.  It gives you confidence in times of uncertainty.  It's offense and defense against the devil's schemes.  It leads to faith in God, as well!  And He loves that!  Oh, how it must please our Father for us kids to say, "Thanks, Papa."  It brings peace into the turmoil too.  You come around to strength and determination to forge ahead, knowing He's got your best interest in mind.  It's just plain good, folks.  And we have a desperate need to practice this daily.  We must practice thanksgiving as naturally as talking to our best friend.  May we never count Him out of our sticky situations.  He knows what He's doing.  And in case you need reminding...He wins at the end of the book.  And He's wanting you on His side.  Ah, yeah.