The Power of Thanksgiving!
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 (KJV)
These words by the Apostle Paul are powerful words! If you're seeking the victory over trials or time of testing, these words are meant for you. We have the ability to endure through the power of thanksgiving to the Lord God Jehovah. Being thankful changes our attitude and outlook on our circumstances.
I can imagine the Separatists praising God for seeing them through that first hard year in the new land and every year afterward. These Believers who came from England to escape religious persecution, seeking a new land where they could worship freely, struggled and suffered and died. Yet they persevered. If they had not endured through that terrible first winter, and stayed in the new land, our country might not have become a nation under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah.
Learning to endure is a key element of Christian life. There are often trials and testing of our faith that we must endure. Granted it is not easy to endure sufferings and hardships alone. The true test of faith is whether or not we will seek to endure through our own strength, or surrender our fate to our loving Lord. To endure, we must rely on our Lord God Jehovah. For only He can help us when we falter.
When those trials come, we can bolster our faith by reading the Word. Remembering His faithful intervention of the Hebrews of the Old Testament, and the new covenant with the early Church fosters renewed hope. We have the testimonies of countless Believers through the centuries of God’s faithfulness to care for His children.
Singing songs of thanksgiving lift our spirits. We are buoyed by the praise of our Lord. Praising God forces us to remember His deeds. Offering our thanks for Him and all that He does for us is humbling, for it is then that we realize our own frailties. We understand as we give thanks that all that we have and are comes from Him.
Honoring and glorifying our Lord is so powerful! The enemy can’t stand it and flees I think. How could the jealous, coveting enemy withstand God’s glory? He can’t. He must gnash his teeth and beat his chest in frustration. Call upon the name of the Lord--“Jesus”. The Bible tells us there will be a time when “every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10) at the name of Jesus. He is Lord!
Placing our trust in Jesus takes a huge amount of faith and a conscious effort of our will. It is natural for us puny humans to struggle with Him for control. But we will lose that battle. Who is greater than the Lord? When we are focused on Him, waiting for Him to act in our behalf, and watching what He will do, we will be certain of the outcome.
Let us rejoice and give thanks for our Lord who makes all things possible. There is none other worthy of our praise and worship.
© 2011 Linda Hull, Words of Encouragement
