Be Willing To Thank God For Nothing

DAILY VITAMIN
- Be Willing To Thank God For Nothing
"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thess 5:18)
      You don't need a reason before you praise God. That's what we are told in our theme verse. Anyway just to clear things up, there's always a reason to be thankful; you just have to think well enough. You may not have received the castle you dreamed of, but at least you can be grateful that you still have an earth to build it on.
      The lack of its manifestation may not encourage you, but you must keep being driven by your expectations. Remember, we thank God primarily not because of what He has done, but because of what He can do and for whom He is. We thank Him in respect to His person first before His portfolio. So, you don't need a thing before you understand that God is good; however you do need to understand that God is good to freely receive a thing. You see, you may be passing through a lot now, but it's not always about what you have lost; sometimes it's about what you have left.
     Praise is a proof of your faith. Paul and Silas may have lost their freedom, yet they kept their praise alive. Scripture says at midnight, they sang... (Acts 16:25). You don't need enough before you praise Him, but you sure need to praise Him to get enough. Consider Jesus Christ. He had just five loaves to feed thousands. But what did He do? Rather than whine, cry or complain, He gave thanks for them. And all-round satisfaction was its product. Thus, to live continually in sufficiency, as is His will towards us, you have to make it a habit of thanking God for something every hour of the day. Both the seen and unseen.
     Colossians 3:15-17 encourages us to dwell in an atmosphere of thanksgiving to the Lord at all times. It says "...and be you thankful....admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him". Even when things aren't looking good, it tells us to make melodies of thanksgiving in our hearts to the Lord. It's the only way to survive and thrive in this disarrayed world.
    A lot of things are going to happen that might seem to abort your faith; but unless you can learn how to do this- thanking God even when there's nothing, no evidence, to use as a good enough reason, it might wipe you out in a moment. It was what David did, and it got him through a whole lot of crazy ordeals. He said he praised God seven times a day (Psalm 119:164). That seems to me like a great therapeutic procedure. And Paul agrees too. He calls it the best way to experience God's peace in difficult situations (Phil 4:6-7).
     Hence, don't wait for something to happen; thank Him for anything now and something will happen.

Prayer:
God I thank you for where I am now and for where you promised to take me. I thank you because even when it seems like I have nothing, with you I've got everything. I don't care how things look today, I'm sure of my tomorrow, for you promised that eyes have not seen what you've prepared for me. You've promised to do a new thing that would be absolutely unbelievable. So thank you Father for I believe it's done, in Jesus Name. Amen