Month: November 2023

How often do you hear people express sincere gratitude? Try an experiment. Keep track of the number of complaints you hear each day and compare that with the number of times you hear people express sincere words of gratitude.

Are we really grateful? Or are we more apt to complain than to give God thanks?
“Gratitude” is from the same root word as the word “grace.” A person who has begun to accept how gracious God is to us becomes a grateful person. Paul says to the believers in Thessalonica, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

If we live lives that are consistently joyful; if we are striving to live in an attitude of prayer, it will lead us to thankfulness in all circumstances. The psalmist caught this spirit in Psalm 97:1 when he reminds us that whatever is going on, the Lord reigns and the Earth should be glad. As long as God rules, I can be joyful. God is over all things. He’s not responsible for all things that happen, but he’s promised to work through all things and bring good to those who trust him. It’s not unusual for God to use the very worst developments to bring about the best end. Romans 8:28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

A ship was wrecked, and the only survivor washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He was exhausted. He cried out to God to save him. Every day he scanned the horizon, searching for help. Finally, he managed to build a rough hut and put his few articles in that hut. One day, coming home from hunting for food, he was stung with grief to see his little hut in flames and a cloud of smoke. The worst had happened. But early the next day, a ship drew in and rescued him.
He asked the crew, “How did you know I was here?” They replied, “We saw your smoke signal.”
Maybe the difficulty you are experiencing now is a smoke signal that will lead to a greater blessing.

Here is a list that I found that I believe I will help us gain and maintain an attitude of gratitude in our lives.

Take note
This means to live with awareness. As Americans, we are so often tempted to see nothing but our own reality. Take note. Become aware. Open your eyes to the world around you. It will shock you, but it will also cause you to be grateful.

Take inventory
. . . of your blessings. The classic hymn, Count your Many Blessings, says, “When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
Many of us have a tendency to focus on what’s wrong, which gives us a distorted picture of life. If we focus on the wrong things we will never see the good things. Take inventory of the blessings and stop focusing on the things that are or could go wrong.

Take action
Turn your attitude of gratitude into an action of appreciation. Do something good for someone else. God has given you plenty, so share it. God didn’t give it to you to solely for your own benefit. He placed it in your hands to see what kind of servant you will be. He gave you all you have so you can be His person, His ambassador, so you can do with it the same thing He would do.

God is God of the impossible.

People can’t walk on water…but in God’s power, Peter did.
People can’t come back from the dead….but when Jesus called him Lazarus came back. People can’t instantly be healed from terminal diseases…but Jesus healed many.
Animals can’t talk…but a donkey once spoke from God.
A virgin woman can’t get pregnant…but Jesus was born of a virgin.
Thousands of people were hungry and Jesus fed them….with five loaves of bread and two fish.

The earth’s movements are fixed in orbit to cause daily sunrise and sunset…until that one day Joshua prayed that everything would hold still and keep daylight going until they defeated their enemies.

George was a man of uncommon prayer.

He and his wife set out to establish an orphan home to care for the homeless children of England. The first home was dedicated in a rented building on April 21, 1836. Within a matter of days, 43 orphans were being cared for.

Here are some of the guidelines they set up for their orphanage:

1- No funds would ever be solicited.

2- No debts were ever to be incurred.
3- The success of the orphanage would be measured not by the numbers served or by the amount of money taken in, but by God’s blessing on the work, which Mueller expected to be in direct proportion to the time spent in prayer.

When the first building was constructed, Mueller and his friends remained true to their convictions. The public was amazed when a second building was opened six months after the first. They kept concentrating on prayer and eventually there were five new buildings, 110 workers, and 2,050 orphans being cared for.

George Mueller not only counted on God to provide, but he believed that God would provide abundantly. For over 60 years Mueller recorded every specific prayer request and the results. Mueller was responsible for the care of 9,500 orphans during his life. These children never went without a meal. Muller never asked for help from anyone but God. $7,500,000 came to him over the course of his life and it was all in answer to believing prayer. Remember, this was in the 1800s. That would amount to more than an estimated $200,000,000 today….no grants, no fundraisers, just prayer!

Joshua was a remarkable man. He grew up to experience firsthand his nation Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. He saw the miracles of God and trusted Him. He was a man of faith in God that we see over and over in Joshua’s life.

In Joshua 10 – we see this event.

He led his entire army on an all-night march towards the enemy’s camp, under the cover of darkness so that they could launch a pre-dawn surprise attack.

So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon. “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.” Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth- horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.

As the sun set toward the horizon, Joshua knew that his time was up. Once it got dark, the enemies would slip away. So he uttered into this incredible prayer:

On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day! Joshua 10:7-14

Joshua has the audacity to ask God to do something, not just miraculous, but unbelievable and unprecedented. The fact that he could even thought of that was remarkable. Faith knows no limits, because with God, nothing is impossible. Joshua believed in a BIG God.

Could it be that we are not seeing as much of God’s greatness because we have been making timid prayers? I know that I don’t want to be the one to put limits on what God wants to do because I am too afraid to ask for it. I am not talking about asking for God to send you a million dollars. The key is that what we ask for will bring honor and glory to God alone. Not to a church, or a pastor; not for selfish motives, but to get on the same page that God is and let Him show His power!