The Bible calls on us to give thanks in all things.
That can be hard to do when things are going wrong. This is why this is my second straight Thanksgiving presenting this message.
However, the Lord calls on us to do so in this case because it shows we have the faith to know He will see us through it. Anyone can be thankful when things are going well, but it is a testament to one's faith to maintain through adversity.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6
This scripture was given me by a brother in Christ at a men's prayer breakfast in Walnut Creek, CA, earlier this month. It has reappeared on four occasions since, making it the most prevalent scripture outside of those my wife and I have been reading daily.
Thanksgiving weekend is a perfect time to reflect on scriptures of thanksgiving. While the concept is presented throughout scripture, the word thanksgiving appears 28 times in the King James Bible. (Blue Letter Bible is a great online alternative to Strong's Concordance.) Both word and concept are most prevalent in Psalms; 136 is an entire Psalm of Thanksgiving, and the following mention the word by name:
That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, [and] into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, [and] bless his name.
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Reading these verses and the Psalms surrounding them is a great way to praise Him. He inhabits the praise of His people, and that drives off the attacks of the enemy.
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