We’ve all been there. We find ourselves in a not so pleasant situation, whether by our own choices or someone else’s, or no one else’s, and things seem to be going wrong on every front. One minute everything is just great-the career is taking off, relationships are flowing smoothly, finances prospering and….WHAM! Out of nowhere the heavens seem to open over top of you and a deluge rests on you….and it just.keeps. pouring.
You find yourself caught in an endless sense of bewilderment, maybe even shock, trying to figure out where you went wrong. You trace your steps backward, like a private investigator trying to solve the crime of the century, in an attempt to find some clue of a wrong turn that brought you to this terrible place, so perhaps you can correct your mistakes and find your happy place once again. It’s during these times that it’s so difficult to walk in a right attitude. It is also in these times when it is most crucial to walk in thankfulness.
I think about the Israelites when they were in the desert. God delivered them through his servant Moses and performed amazing miracles. They were kept safe in plagues. They left Egypt with the nation’s wealth. God even parted the Red Sea and made the ground dry so they could cross over. They watched Pharoah’s army be destroyed before their very eyes, even! Then they turned on Moses and grumbled over the manna, which by the way was delivered daily from heaven. They simply never looked at all their blessings from God nor were they thankful. They complained and murmured, griped and moaned over their plight no matter how much God did for them. Aren’t we so often the same?
Remember that time when you were sick and thought this was it and God healed you? Remember that time when you were sure you were going to lose your job and you were promoted? Remember when all looked hopeless but God came through for you? If He did it once, He will do it again. We must never forget to be thankful for where He has brought us from, and trust that He will get to where we need to be.
Take a moment to remember all that God has done for you. And thank Him again for seeing you through it. Thank Him for a beautiful day. If it’s not beautiful but rainy, thank Him for watering the earth. If it’s hot, thank Him for the sunshine that makes our crops to grow. If you’re in a draught, thank Him for an opportunity to believe Him for rain. Thankfulness is a powerful tool that always brings you to your promise.
You may say, “ But it’s just so hard to be thankful in a dark place.” Yes, it sometimes is hard to be thankful. But if you use your power to CHOOSE thankfulness, you cultivate an attitude of gratitude, and you will see your circumstances change. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight.
Let’s think about those Israelites again. Because of their lack of gratitude and their disobedience, they wandered in the desert for 40 years and an entire generation did not enter into their promised land. Their negative circumstances took longer than they would have, had they had a right attitude.
When we allow gratitude a home in our hearts, the Lord is given the liberty to move on our behalf and our circumstances change, sometimes very quickly and miraculously. And our breakthrough can bless those around us.
I remember Paul and Silas. While they were in prison, shackled, in terrible conditions, they sang praises and prayed. You can’t praise God without a grateful heart. In the midst of their discomfort, they found a reason to praise the Lord anyway. And because they did, they created an atmosphere for miraculous deliverance.
In our darkest of circumstances we can see our greatest miracles if we keep our heart grateful and trust in Him.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
“And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.” Acts 16:25-34