There's nothing that makes my heart soar quicker than to recall memories of God's faithfulness or the telling of them! They strengthen my faith, just in their memory!
A heart filled with praise and thanksgiving is a heart filled with joy! Joy has nothing to do with circumstances, joy is an attitude of the heart; that can be chosen, even in the midst of hardships. A heart filled with gratitude comes from a Godly perspective, in the way we view the world around us. A heart of faith is joy filled and seeks to praise and be grateful for, even, the smallest things! It sees the good, even in difficult times. It chooses praise and a spirit of thanksgiving! A joyful heart remains at rest and trusts; not the seen, but the unseen! It believes; it has a fixed focus on the Lord and not on the problem! It is a day to day struggle for us all to maintain a proper heart attitude, a grateful heart!
I Thessalonians 5:18 says,
"Thank (God) in everything (no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks), for this is the will of God for you (who are) in Christ Jesus (the Revealer and Mediator of that will)."
Did you know that a heart of gratitude is God's will for you? This is what He desires! In every situation! This takes work and some maturity!
Colossians 2:7 says,
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with THANKFULNESS."
A heart rooted in Christ, knows Him, intimately, His character has been proven over time and faith then is chosen over doubt, which overflows into thanksgiving! A heart of faith looks to Him as a sheep does to a shepherd, trusting him and depending on him for ALL things!
Psalm 79:13 says,
"Then we Your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise."
Listen to Psalm 23 from that perspective:
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
The sheep are totally dependent on the Shepherd for everything! When we fall from a spirit of dependence on God into a spirit anxiousness, we've just decided our problem is BIGGER than God and He can't handle it. We move in to take control; to help fix it. We need to captivate those thoughts, immediately, and turn to God in repentance and entrust them again to Him through prayer, with THANKSGIVING and in humility.
Often, we come to God with list of prayer requests (complaints), forgetting who He is and, often, are not humbled before Him, as we make OUR WILL known to Him. Our focus is not on the Lord, but on the problems, as we see them outside of His perspective. As we make our desires known to God, we can tend treat Him, as if He were some kind of genie, at our beckon call. We are not seeing Him as Preeminent at all, but have raised ourselves and our wants above Him. There's no humility in this approach, no surrender to His will, but a loftiness or pride; as we can, even, put a certain amount of blame on Him for our demise. Sometimes, even, accusing Him for His lack of caring; demanding our way, as if we were God ourselves and KNOW what's best. Ever been there?
Focusing on the problems, as we list them before the Lord, only causes us to spiral down, as we are reminded with the listing how hopeless our situation is.
Putting God in HIS rightful place as Preeminent, all knowing and our all encompassing Source of Strength, puts our focus in a position to kneel before Him, a right view of ourselves. We recognize His Sovereignty and power and only then, do we see our problems from the proper perspective: as small and in His complete control!
Philippians 4:6-7 says,
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
This peace comes by God being the focus and entrusting these petitions to HIS WILL, not our own; letting God be God and surrendering of our will to Him. An ability to rest in and trust that His will is best and believing He has all power to control the outcome. We are believing HIM to do what is best, even if it's not what we'd choose.
Psalm 7:17 says,
"I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High."
We are choosing to believe God will choose rightly and act justly and are able to praise Him even before we see the outcome; knowing and believing Him to do what is right. This is peace! And it's overflow is a heart of continual praise and thanksgiving! It can be cut short by a lack of faith, by worry or fear; but, also, can be reestablished, as quickly, by repenting and turning back to a stance of faith and gratitude.
2 Chronicles 7:14 is one of my favorites!
"If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land."
Take a look at our responsibility in this passage (as His people): #1 Humble ourselves ( a right perspective of God and ourselves) #2 To seek His face (His Presence) #3 Turn from our wicked ways. If we follow through on those three requirements, then God promises three things: #1 To hear from heaven #2 To forgive our sins #3 To heal our land.
When we choose a right perspective of God, to follow His commands then the blessings are many! He's worthy of praise! He takes care of His people! But even when things are hard, choose a right perspective of God and self (a humble heart) a kneeling position, a heart of praise and thanksgiving and you can know the joy of peace and rest in His Presence! A life lived in His Presence is a life of praise!
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