Psalm 116:17 (KJV) 

      “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.” 

 A sacrifice is a thing that is offered, a thing that is given up, a loss of something.  What God is commanding you to do is lay down the fleshly emotions and attitudes that say, “I don’t feel like it right now” or, “I don’t want to”. Whatever you may feel like your justification is, God does not see it as that.  

The choice is yours, you can walk around in anger, frustration and rebellion and all the other “feelings” that go with that, or you can do it God’s way and walk around in peace, wisdom and joy and all the other ”blessings” that go with that. You cannot lay blame on someone else for the way your life is going when you are deliberately being disobedient to God. Sure, it is tough; sometimes it is downright hard. That is why it’s called a sacrifice.  

You will be amazed at the difference in your life, as giving thanks becomes a way of life. The fellowship with Him becomes sweeter and more precious; and I promise you, you will begin to sense His will for you in areas of your life that you, up until this time, have only had questions about.  

  Prayer

Father, help me to become a thankful person.  I want to obey 

You in all of Your ways, and I recognize that giving You thanks 

is very important to You and to me. If I begin to grumble about 

life or begin to doubt Your love and/or provision for me, please 

bring to my remembrance to give You thanks. Father, I need 

Your strength and I need Your encouragement to do this. I am 

asking You to place within me a desire to thank you, a desire 

to break old habits. Therefore, Lord, I give You my heart and my 

mouth to change into instruments of thanks- giving to, and for You. 

Thank you, Father, for hearing and answering my prayer.   

4.  Reminds You Of Your Continuing Dependence

Giving thanks reminds you of your continuing dependence upon Him.

As you read on our “Who We Are“ page, my two oldest children were kidnapped. I can remember the horror of those two years. The alcohol was an escape for me. I could not find peace anywhere. I was a true basket case. I became so angry, bitter, resentful, rebellious, all that yuk. I was just a real pain to be around. Others did not enjoy my company at all. Then I met Jesus. The very next morning after I gave my life totally over to Him, I got up and realized I was a new person. Old things were passed away and all things were new to me. I began to thank Him that He had lifted me up and brought me out of all that yuk and to thank Him that He has much for me to do.

I thank Him so much for not giving up on me. I have learned this: if I do not stay dependent on Him, I will depend on someone else or myself.

People will let you down, and you will let yourself down. The only one I know who never lets you down is Jesus.

Jesus is your Provider, your Source, your Sufficiency, your Physician, your Healer, your Victory, your Sanctification, your Peace, your Comfort, your Security, your Shepherd, your Guide, your Protector, your Redemption, your Righteousness, your Friend and so much more. He is always faithful.

If you have a problem in a specific area of your life, or maybe more than one problem, that is His specialty. Jesus wants to set you free. He wants to show you how to be victorious and be an over comer. The only requirement is that you be dependant upon Him. It is through giving thanks that your will, will submit to His will, and you will willingly become dependent on Him.

As you thank Him for being your Provider, your Source, your Friend, all of the above and more, you will stay aware of your continuing dependence upon Him, and He will prove Himself to be your All in All.

5.  Develops A Stronger Trust

Giving thanks helps you to develop a stronger trust in God. Seldom does He do things the way you think He will. Through trust you begin to see His purpose. You learn to trust most when you are walking in the dark, because walking in the light does not take any faith.

Several years ago I met a woman who was a single mother with two children still at home, and her car was in need of some costly repairs; which she did not have the finances to cover. There- fore, she started praying for a car. She knew in her mind that God would provide her a car through someone who could afford to give it to her. Yet, God chose to meet her need through another single mother. God laid on this woman's heart to give her car, a Toyota away. She obeyed not knowing what she then was going to do for transportation. God honored her obedience by giving her back a Cadillac. Boy was it pretty. God did not provide either need the way the ladies thought He would.

I know another couple who God spoke to to give $100.00 in an offering one night. Logically they did not have this kind of money to give away, and it really was a sacrifice for them. Two weeks later they received a phone call from an elderly lady who said, “How would you feel if we paid your house off for you?“ The husband got so excited he started shouting and praising God. Then he said, “Who are you?“ The elderly lady explained she and a friend had been sitting around the table and started talking about how much money they each had. They decided they had enough for themselves to live on for the rest of their lives, and they just wanted to bless this couple with some of the excess. This couple knew when they obeyed God with the offering that He would honor them. However, they had no idea how. God is always full of surprises.

When God asks something of us, or we ask something of God, if we are in thanksgiving, we won't fret about the how, when and where questions that come to our minds. We just know He is faithful and He always does things in the best way and at the right times. He is never late, but He is never early either. His timing is always just right.

Sometimes your mind will try to play games with you, with reasoning's, logics, and trying to lean on your own understanding. Sometimes we get impatient waiting on God. If you cannot see a way for things to happen or come together, it causes doubt and fear to enter into your spirit. That is when you need to go into thanksgiving. Allow Him through thanksgiving to become bigger than the problem, bigger than the circumstance. Thanksgiving will build up your trust in God and in His will for you. That is true security.

6.  Focuses Our Attention On God Not The Circumstance

Giving thanks will energize you when you are weary and tired both emotionally and/or physically. Your inner man is renewed and something happens on the outside. Giving thanks releases a supernatural strength. A divine energy will be released within you.

1Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV) 

     “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.“ 

This is not a suggestion from our Father it is a commandment. 

Matthew 11:28(KJV)  

     “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.“

As you look at these two scriptures, you have to wonder how you or perhaps someone you may know can just lay that heavy burden down. It sounds too simple. Maybe you have tried to lay that burden down, but somehow it just hangs on to you. You confess with your mouth, “Jesus, I give this thing to You.“ Then you continue to feel the weight of it. It may feel pretty hopeless, but you keep trying the only way you know how. Discouragement tries to set in. What now? This thing just keeps dragging you further and further down.

I gave the example in #2 Motivates You To See His Purpose: “Lord, I cannot thank you that my husband does not treat me like I know You want him to. But, I thank you, Father, that You love him, and You have a perfect plan for him and for our marriage. I thank you, Lord, that You are bigger than his anger and mistreatment of me. I thank you, Father, that You know exactly where I am and what I need. I thank you and trust You, Lord, to do a work in our marriage, that our marriage will become whole and complete as Your Word has taught us it should be“

Or perhaps your need is similar to this: “Lord, I cannot thank you that my son or daughter is on drugs. But, I thank you that You are bigger than the drug addiction. I thank you, that You have a purpose for their life. I thank you Lord, that You will use this thing to tear down the walls of the enemy and expose the works of unrighteousness around them. I thank you, Lord, for the angels that You have stationed around them. I thank you that this thing the enemy means to destroy my son or daughter with, You will turn to good in their lives and You will use their deliverance as a ministry for Your kingdom.

What thanksgiving will do, is take the burden off your shoulders and place it at His feet. Thanksgiving will help you to see how big and awesome and trustworthy our God really is.

When you realize your burden is safe with Him, He does care about it, and He is going to do something about it, your inner man will be renewed and something will happen to the outside of you. Giving thanks releases a super- natural strength. A divine energy will be released within you.

7.  Transforms Anxiety Into Peace

Isaiah 26:3 (KJV) 

     “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.“ 

Giving thanks helps you realize, He is bigger than your problem.

Does it seem like your mind is always going a hundred miles an hour? Society as a whole has so much on their minds; finances, employment, family, health issues, you need to go here, or go there, relationships, trying to figure out when you will have time to do this or that, when you can take the time to do this or that. What are we going to eat? What are we going to wear? How can I do this?

Then we have the concerns of, “Did I say the right thing? Did I say the wrong thing? Did I make them angry at me? Do they like me?“ Does any of this sound familiar?

The word "peace" in Isaiah 26:3 means; quiet, tranquility, contentment, the dictionary gives this definition: freedom from war or strife of any kind; order and security. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

It is sad to say, but most of the things that rattle your peace today, you will not even remember a year from now. Think about that. If they are no more important than that, why are they causing such havoc and turmoil in your life?

The biggest reason you have no real peace is because your mind is on everything else but God. You are too busy in the mornings to spend any time with Him. During the day it is impossible to find a quiet place to set yourself aside to be alone with Him. And by the time evening gets here, you have to hurry to get around to meet somebody or go somewhere or do some chores you won't have time to do tomorrow, or you just want to kick back and do nothing, just go brain dead for awhile because you are exhausted. And you think I'll spend time with Him tomorrow.

Remember this parable of the Sower

Mark 4:3-8 (The Message Bible) 

     “The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

     And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

     The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

     But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."

Giving thanks will cause you to focus on Him and not what is going on around you. Here's an example: “I thank you, Lord, You know right where I am. You know all the issues and pressures of my life. Yet I know You are not wringing Your hands wondering what You are going to do with me, You are not pacing the floor of heaven with concern over my well-being. You have a perfect plan for me. I thank you for Your wisdom and understanding that will help me to make good choices today. I thank you for Your salvation that has set me from the sin and darkness around me. Thank you, Lord, for Your protection, for giving Your angels charge over me. Thank you for Your love for me. Help me, Lord, to rest in You today, to keep my eyes focused on who You are, Your faithfulness, Your blessings. Please help me to keep my mind on You, and as I do keep my mind on You, I thank you that You will keep me in perfect peace.

8.  Makes Us Able to Rejoice

Giving thanks is essential in being able to rejoice, to be calmly happy, cheerful, (lighthearted in mind and spirit).

We have all seen people who are always up; they just seem to live stress free. Trials come along and they sleep fine. You never hear negative talk come out their mouth. They just seem to be wonderful, positive people that encouragement and insight flows out of. You are drawn to them and yet somehow you wonder, “Why would they like me? I'm not like they are.“ You fail to see anything that the two of you would have in common, yet somehow you wish you two could become friends.

Perhaps sometime down the road you hear something about this person's life to find out that their life has been full of hardships and sufferings. You look at them and amaze at how happy and cheerful they always seem to be. It's hard to figure out, isn't it?

This person has learned to live in thanksgiving to God. They recognize that everything they have is a gift from God. That has allowed the trials they have been through to refine them rather than fill them full of doubt and fear. This person has learned to forgive rather than hold a grudge. They have made a conscious choice to thank Him in all things.

They have chosen to say to themselves as David did: 

Psalms 42 (KJV)

     “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.“

In other words, they have learned to take control over their mind, will and emotions. They are able to talk to themselves and tell themselves, “I don't care what it looks like, self, you will trust in God.“ They have made a choice to believe what God has said to them, and God has never let them down.

Is learning this hard? Yes, most things we learn are not easy and may take awhile. The key is don't give up. Recognize you have been the way you are for how long? Determine in your mind, God and His ways will be the #1 priority to you. You choose to live as a thankful child of God, and every time God comes through for you it gets easier and easier to trust Him. Giving thanks is the key to changing your mindset and focusing on Him.

Start by giving thanks with your mouth, until your heart follows by becoming grateful to the God you serve.

9.  Impacts Our Christian Witness

Giving thanks will influence our Christian witness. When the bottom drops out  who does the world call? They will seek us out because of the life style they have seen in us.

A few years ago I received a phone call from a man in another state. He said he was miserable; he wanted to get things right with God. I lead him to the Lord. We talked for awhile, but when we hung up my heart just ached. This man lives in a very large city, full of all kinds of churches. He knew people who claimed to love Jesus and be Christians, yet he had to make a long distance phone call to find out how to meet Jesus.

The world will seek you out because of the life style they have seen in you.

     •  If you think like the world

     •  If you act like the world 
     •  If you react like the world

     •  If you are tolerant of sin and wickedness 

If you are not reflecting Jesus, why should they give Christianity a second look? You have so much more to offer the world than Heaven. But because many have not experienced the joy of their salvation themselves, they cannot recommend relationship with God to others with any kind of conviction. Whom can the world turn to for help when they need somewhere to go?

Giving Thanks will change your attitudes.

    •  Instead of complaining you will become an encourager and a problem solver  
    •  Instead of bitterness you will experience joy 
    •  Instead of anger you will experience peace      
    •  Instead of indifference you will experience caring 
    •  Instead of rejection you will experience acceptance 
    •  Instead of hate you will experience love 

As you learn to live in thanksgiving to God, recognizing that everything you have is a gift from God, you will allow the trials that you are going through to refine you rather than fill you full of doubt and fear. You will learn to forgive rather than hold a grudge, to love rather than hate, to be selfless rather than selfish. As you make a conscious choice to thank God in all things, that choice will change your life and how you live your life. It will also change the way others see you.

Determine in your mind and in your heart that God and His ways will be the #1 priority to you. Choose to live life as a thankful child of God.

10.  Builds Relationship With God and Brings Unity Through The Mind Of Christ.

Probably most important, Giving thanks builds relationship with our Heavenly Father. Causing us to desire to have the mind of Christ in all things. Giving thanks will influence our Christian witness. When the bottom drops out who does the world call? They will seek us out because of the life style they have seen in us.

As the body of Christ, when we start being obedient to God's word, a unity will come into our presence. Why? Because we have submitted to the mind of Christ, submitted to thinking His way and doing things His way.

The only way this unity can happen is for each person to take responsibility for himself or herself. To do what God has called and commanded you to do as an individual child of God.

That means it is up to me to be accountable for me, not only to God, but also to those around me.

You must be accountable for you, not only to God, but also to those around you.

When I give thanks to Jesus as my Provider, my Source, my Sufficiency, my Physician, my Healer, my Victory, my Sanctification, my Peace, my Comfort, my Security, my Shepherd, my Guide, my Protector, my Redemption, my Righteousness, my Friend and so much more; then when you give thanks to Jesus as your Provider, your Source, your Sufficiency, your Physician, your Healer, your Victory, your Sanctification, your Peace, your Comfort, your Security, your Shepherd, your Guide, your Protector, your Redemption, your Righteousness, your Friend and so much more; we are in unity. We are celebrating the mind of Christ.

As I have said before this is not an option. It is a commandment.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV) 

     “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.“

Job 36:11-12 (KJV) 

     “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge.“

GIVING THANKS - acknowledges God's favor

GIVING THANKS - expresses your gratitude and pleasure

GIVING THANKS - shows God you are grateful and agreeable

If you are not thankful, you are unappreciative and ungrateful Choose to give thanks and spend all your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures.

Determine in your mind and in your heart that, God and His ways will be the #1 priority to you. Choose to live life as a thankful child of God.

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