"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 15-57.
Thanksgiving Day is the day many families gather together to give thanks and remember their blessings. We all have so much to be thankful for, and every day in our lives should be a day of thanksgiving. Many people look at their lives and focus on all the negative things that are going on… and wonder, "What do I have to be thankful for?" You don't have enough money to pay bills or buy the things you need; you don't have peace in your home; you don't have the love and respect from your children; you don't have a job, and if you have a job, you don't like it; you don't make enough money, and the list goes on and on and on. But this Scripture says, …THANKS be to God, which giveth us the VICTORY! Do all these things sound like we are living a victorious life? Paul says we are troubled on every side, we often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don't know what to do, we never give up. The Word of God says that God is with us in times of trouble. When we are persecuted, even then, we are not forsaken. "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord!"
God is our strength when we are weak, He is our comforter when our heart is heavy; He is our strong tower when we need a refuge from the storms in our life. He is our peace when there is turmoil all around us. "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good!" Yes, we do have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord, and much to be thankful for. Through Him that loved us, we are more than conquerors, because we are not fighting our battle alone. There are times when God says, "This is not your battle, it is Mine". That is the time we can stand still and see His salvation, see how He will work it out; for our good and for His glory. There are situations in our life where man may have meant it for evil, Hallelujah, but God is working it out for our good. We may not understand exactly what is going on, but know that God wants us to trust Him and His Word. The Word of God says, "And we KNOW that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, and He knows how to work what needs to be done so that His plan and purpose will be carried out according to His will. Even though we may fall, we get back up again and keep pressing forward. And we can continue to praise and thank God, because we have the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ!
At first we were looking at the negative things, now we can accentuate the positive and give thanks to God for all that He is doing, and for all that HE is allowing in our lives to get us to the place where He wants us to be; so that not our will, but His will be done. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Greater is He Who is in us than he that is in the world. No weapon formed against us shall prosper. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever." We fight every battle from a victorious position, because the victory is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah, we are not the underdog, we are on the winning side and we can stand, and withstand; because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but MIGHTY through God. We don't have to back down from the enemy because we have the power to put him on the run and under our feet.
During this Thanksgiving season we can give God thanks for Who He is in our life!!! He has worked and He is working still. He is the same God Who brought Israel through the Red Sea on dry land. He is the same God Who fought their battles for them in the wilderness, and confused the enemies so that they ended up fighting against themselves. He is the same God Who raised Lazarus from the dead; He is the same God Who spoke to the storm, "Peace, be still"; He is the same God Who will speak to every storm in our life, because He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Let us be swift to give God the thanks that is du Him. Thank Him for His Word that stands forever, …and stand on His Word. Thank Him for the VICTORY!!! "Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good!!!"
