Thanksgiving and Thanks Living, part 2

Even though the Apostle Paul faced some very devastating circumstances, he was able to maintain an attitude of gratitude because he held onto a proper perspective of both God and His circumstances. He knew that God was good all the time and, consequently, he knew that a good God would only allow circumstances that would ultimately result in something good.
 

Paul’s attitude toward his circumstances and situations mirrored that of Joseph in Genesis 50:19-20, where Joseph said, “Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” You may well remember that Joseph’s brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. But this situation was just a part of God’s bigger plan of protecting His people - and Joseph recognized that, rather than wallow in self-pity over the tough times he had to just endure, trusting and being thankful to God
 

Joseph’s attitude basically says: “Since God is good, then this bad circumstance must be meant to bring about some further good in or through my life or else God would not have allowed it.” What an accurate picture of the pain and suffering, and all the negative stuff, that we all have to face in this life! It all originates from Satan, who intends to harm us, but when God allows it to happen, it can only mean He has something good in store.
 

Knowing that God expects us to live a life of thanksgiving rather than offering limited thanks, and knowing that we must never lose sight of God’s goodness and God’s hand at work in everything we face, I want to share you with you three reasons why our thanksgiving must be continual no matter what are circumstances may be.
 

1. BECAUSE THE WORLD IS WATCHING AND LISTENING

The world seems to ignore the good news we try to share with them, but they become all ears when negative circumstances befall us.
 

Consider the situation Paul and Silas found themselves in: “And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:22-25).

Continued tomorrow