How To Be Thankful In All Things

How To Be Thankful In All Things

November 22, 2018

It’s Thanksgiving, and for some people, it’s all about the food. For me, it’s all about being thankful for what you have, what you’ve lost, and what is yet to come. In everything, there is a positive and in everything we should thank God.

So How Can We Be Thankful In All Things

#1. Stay Focused On God
Because he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in his distress. I will deliver him, and I will honor him. Psalm 91:14-15

When bad things happen, we have two choices to make. We can make the choice to focus on the negative and allow it to control us. Or, we can focus on God and see what good can come of it.

Many people often blame the bad things that happen to them on Satan forgetting that God is the creator of all things, good and evil. God gives us tests and trials in our lives to prepare us for His blessings. When we blame Satan for those tests and trials, we are not able to see the God in them and therefore will not gain the strength we need for the blessing He has in store for us.

Staying focused on God through your trials and tests allows God to be the God He is. It is an act of glorifying God. In doing so, God will carry you through your test, allow you to see your growth, and you will know that your reward is greater than your test. Now that’s definitely something to be thankful for.

Since I’ve started looking at my trials and tests as preparation for God’s blessings, I am able to be thankful even through the hard times. I have also noticed that my trials and tests don’t seem as difficult as they did when I was blaming them on Satan. So, I charge you to stop giving Satan so much credit and power and put the credit and power back in the hands of the creator and watch God change your perspective on the negative things in your life.

 

#2. Meditate on God’s Word

It’s super easy to forget just how great God is when you are going through hard times. So to help you to stay focused on God and His promises, you need to meditate on His word. God’s word will remind you just how grateful you should be because of what God has already done for you that you haven’t even received yet. God’s word will also help you remember what God has already done for you that you should be thankful for.

Here are some great Bible verses to meditate on to be thankful at all times.

  • Psalm 112:7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
  • Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
  • Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
  • John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
  • Psalm 55:22  Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be shaken.
  • Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal
  • 1 Chronicles 16:11  Seek the LORD and his strength;  seek his presence continually!
  • Psalm 32:7-8 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
  • Deuteronomy 31:8 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
  • Psalm 23:4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;  your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 

#3. Pray
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  James 5:13
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Prayer works! I know that it can be difficult to go to God when you may feel ashamed or ungrateful for being upset through your hard times. Do you go to your earthly parents when you are upset? God wants for you to go to Him. He yearns for that personal relationship with you. Not only that, God is the ultimate counselor. He knows more about what you feel, think, and knows more about what you are going through than you do. He knows the answers to the questions you don’t even realize you have.

To be thankful through all things, when you go to God in prayer, give thanks instead of asking for relief. Thank God in advance for bringing you through your trials and tests. Thank God for equipping you with the tools you need to navigate through your storm. In giving thanks to God in prayer during hard times, it helps to nurture a spirit of giving thanks to God on a daily basis.

 

#4. Worship
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100

Nothing beats breaking a down spirit than worshipping God. It’s something how worship transforms your heart into a spirit of praise instead of sadness.  Worship allows you to take yourself out of the situation and totally focus on God. What better way to create a thankful spirit than to focus solely on the One who created you. This is another great way to remember how awesome God is and that nothing is impossible for Him. That means, not even what you are going through.

 

xoxo Tish

 

P.S. I’m thankful for so many things, but mostly God. Without Him I’d have nothing else to be thankful for. – unknown

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