You are welcome to the December 2022 edition of El Shaddai Heritage!!!
Our God is faithful! Let God be true and every man a liar! You have every reason to give thanks to God, He kept you. If you are not where you wish to be, the truth is that you are not where you used to be! God is not done with you yet. Keep hope alive!
Rejoice, give thanks to the Lord because the enemy can not have the final say over your life in the name of Jesus.
The Bible says in Job chapter 14 verse 7-9
“For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.“
Listen, the devil does not have the final say over your life. The enemy can not succeed against you, the devil can not prevail against you as long as you stay connected to Jesus Christ
Your situation might look gloomy, your condition might be very bad now, and you might feel you are on the floor, but the truth about your situation can be expressed in Psalms 124 verses 1 to 8
“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.“
The Lord fought a lot of battles for you that you are not even aware of.
The enemy wanted you maimed, the enemy wanted you incapacitated, the enemy wanted you dead but God said no and prevented your enemies from carrying out their evil plan.
At this end of the year, giving thanks to God might not sound logical to you but you are not controlled by your emotion, you are controlled by The Word of God because you have the life of God in you. 1 John 4:4
Let the enemy throw his best shot, you will still be here standing on your feet because you are more than a conqueror. Romans 8:37. The enemy does not decide the outcome of your situation or your life.
Hallelujah!
You might want to ask yourself, why should I give thanks to God?
God Expects You To Give Him Thanks For The Following Reasons And Many More:
First, It’s a command.
“If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.“
Malachi 2:2
God commands us to give Him praise for the blessings He bestows on us.
Every good thing you enjoy in life is from God. Be it the good sleep you enjoy, the breath of your nostrils, the flexibility of your body, you can easily move from one place to the other without assistance, the food on your table, divine protection and many more.
“…A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
John 3:27
You might think unbelievers also enjoy all of that…Yes, that is the nature of God the father. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 45 the Bible says
“…for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
But the Bible says in Psalms 16 verse 4
“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god:…“
Irrespective of what you went through this year, you are still better off than an unbeliever.
Praise The Lord.
Secondly, when we give thanks to God, our blessings are preserved.
In Malachi chapter 2 verse 2 that we referenced above, the Lord said if we fail to give Him thanks He will curse your blessings. That means, the blessings you have now that you feel is not enough is going to disappear, if you fail to give thanks to God for that blessing.
Thirdly, giving praise to God increases our blessings.
“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.”
Mark 6:41
Number four, thanksgiving perfects our blessings.
“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.“
Here we discover that after the leper came to give thanks, his healing was perfected.
Number five, thanksgiving makes the impossible become possible. It brings dead situations back to life, it gives life to written-off cases.
“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.“
John 11:41
After Jesus gave thanks Lazarus who had been dead for 4 days came back to life.
It’s not just enough to give thanks, you must ensure that the Praise you give to God is not corrupted. There are several factors that destroy Praise
Destroyers of Praise
Murmuring is a great destroyer of Praise, infact it is the root of all the things that corrupt praise.
Once, you murmur over your situation after giving thanks to God over that situation, you are corrupt your thanksgiving.
Disadvantages Of Refusing To Give God Thanks
There are so many things you lose out on when you fail to give God thanks.
As you give thanks to God in this season, The Lord God of Host will rise up on your behalf, He will fight your battles, advance you in life and in destiny and grant you all your heart desires in Jesus name!
Shalom! Shalom! Shalom!