WHY DO WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD PART 2

WHY DO WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD     PART 2  

    

 Psalm 124:1-8 

 ¹If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say;

² If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us:

³Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their anger was kindled against us:

⁴Then the wasters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul:

⁵Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

⁶Blessed be the Lord, who had not given us as a prey to their teeth.

⁷Our soul is escaped as a bird, out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

⁸Our help is in the name of the Lord, who make heaven and earth. 

     

11.   FOR HIS MANY DELIVERANCES:          The book of Psalms 124 from verse 1 make us to understand that if it is not the Lord who was on our side, the evil ones would have consumed us, the waters of the enemy would have over flown and carried us away.    The   deliverances of the Lord in our lives are the reasons we  (you and I) are still alive today. If God were to withdraw  His hands of deliverance,  then the enemy would have destroyed     us. But thank God for His mighty and saving hands, His protective hands that  He uses to deliver and to save us.   The book of Psalm 18:48-50  says ⁴⁸“He deliver me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up  against me: thou hast delivered  me from the violent man.    ⁴⁹Therefore will I give thanks unto   thee; o Lord, among the      heathen, and sing  praises unto  thy name.  ⁵⁰Great  deliverance giveth He to His King; and  showeth mercy to His anointed, to David, and to His elect for    evermore. We need to thank God for His hands of   deliverance from the enemy, from the terror of the night to the arrow of the day God has    been our great deliverance and we should thank Him for.

12.    FOR HIS NEARNESS AND READINESS TO HELP US

Psalm 75:1says “His  name is near” And that is a good  enough reason to thank Him. His name is near means that   God is near. And because God is near His help is near.     The   Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the  Lord  shall be saved.  Romans 10¹³.  The Bible also says    the    name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous  runs into it and he is safe. Proverbs 18¹⁰. God is a very present help in the time of need. He is a well-timed help, a timely help.    Psalm 46¹.   His name is near;  His help is not far from you.  The assurance that God’s name, God’s help is near you should make you to thank Him.  “We give  thanks to you, O  God, we give thanks, for your Name is  near; men tell of your wonderful deeds”.  Psalm 75¹

13.     FOR HIS MARVELOUS WORKS:   The book of Psalm 105^1-2 says  “Give thanks unto the   LORD;     call upon his name: make    known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works”.  This is telling that the works of the Lord are wondrous; they are not ordinary  and so, we should thank Him as beneficiaries of these wonderful works.    

14.   FOR THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS WE ARE PARTAKERS OF We are partakers of God’s inheritance and we should show appreciation to God for this privilege of sharing out of His inheritance. You are to give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12 ) This is not a right; it  is a great privilege. Those who are outside the kingdom of light have no portion in this inheritance.  

15.    FOR THE VICTORY GIVEN TO US IN CHRIST JESUS

According to the book of 1 Corinthians 15⁵⁷, the Bible   says, “But thanks be to God, which  giveth  us the victory  through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   Here, the Bible is telling us of the victory over sin that Jesus Christ has swallowed on the cross of Calvary.  He swallowed up death in victory, therefore we don’t need to be afraid of death any longer.   And  by his death on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus has gotten for us eternal life. Hallelujah!  What a victory!  And for  this, we need to give thanks to Him

16.     FOR HIS PROVISION:  We need to thank God for every provision, for every supplies, for everything we receives from Him. There is nothing we have that are not supplied by Him and received from him.  We must be careful not to take Gods provision  for granted and be too familiar with this provisions in our lives. God’s provisions should not be taken as if we have gotten them through our power or knowledge.  No We should acknowledge God’s benefits as benefits and not rights. We must not be deceived to say that our hands have gotten them for us and therefore become ungrateful.  We   should thank God for the provision of food, we should thank God     for the provision of water, we should thank God for the provision of good health and for all other provisions.

We should learn from our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to the book of  Matthew 26²⁷, the Bible says: “And He took the cup, and gave thanks,  and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of  it;”   Before we start eating, do we thank him for the provision of  the food?   Before we drink water, do we remember to thank   God for the provision of the water? You may think that is going too far. Did we remember to thank Him for the provision of the children’s school fees.  Nothing is too small or too big to thank God for.  Before the miraculous feeding of about 5,000 people, the Bible says in John 6:11  “And Jesus took the loaves, and when He hath given thanks, He distributed to the disciples, and the disciples then to them that were set down and likewise of the fishes as much as they would”   Let us learn to give thanks to God for what we consider as small and  also for the big provisions of God. 

17.   FOR  HIS HEALINGS AND MIRACLES:    As earlier mentioned, only one out of the ten lepers - the Samaritan leper came back to give thanks for his healing. Luke 17¹⁶ says he threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. When was the last time some of us goes  on our knees to thank God for the healing He has given us When was the last time some us went on our knees  for  the  good health he has given us.  Even for the miracles that      we received? Some people will be thinking that they have never received or enjoyed a miracle. Our sleeping and waking up is a miracle We ourselves, we are a miracle  because we are  fearfully and wonderfully made according to the book of . Psalm139¹⁴.  Traveling to and fro,  and returning safely is a miracle. We should not wait until we are involved in an accident in which all the occupants of the vehicles die and  we survived before you know that God  has been protecting us?  Or do we pray to be involved in an accident before we appreciate His protection?  No. This is how the devil has been cheating us from thanking God and  receiving the blessings  God would have showered on us for doing this. It is the effect of negative mindedness.  We think falling sick and being healed is a better and greater miracle than enjoying divine health by not falling sick at all.  Whatever we don’t appreciate, we will not celebrate. Whatever we don’t value, we  don’t cuddle. Whatever we  don’t appreciate will  depreciate  (in  our estimation). We should stop despising   the  healings and miracles of God in your life.

But which one do we always  consider as a big testimony that   we like to listen to in church?     .

18.     FOR ARRANGING AND SENDING PEOPLE TO BLESS US:    Apostle Paul gave thanks to God  for the availability of Titus both in the work of his ministry, his assignments and being very helpful  in the work of the ministry.  For this, he gave thanks to God.   We should always be thankful for the people God has arranged to bless and help you. A man without help – the help of God and the help of man will fail in life. There is no self-made man.   Let us learn to thank God for the people God has brought across your way in life to assist us and help to realize our dream and carry out our life’s assignment.

The Bible in 2 Corinthians 8:^{16-  20}  says  ¹⁶“But thanks be to   God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.  ¹⁷For indeed he accepted the exhortation, but being more   forward.  ¹⁸And we have sent with him the brother; whose  praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; ¹⁹And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel       with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and the declaration of your ready mind.   ²⁰Avoiding this that no man should blame us in this abundance  which is administered by us. ”  

       

19.     FOR THE JOY GOD GAVE US BY  TURNING OUR MOURNING INTO DANCING:    If we believe and act on the word of God, then thanksgiving at the time of mourning and sorrow is the best thing to do.  Although, the time of mourning is usually a time of pain and sorrow and at such a time acting on the Word of God by  giving thanks is the best thing to do. The Bible says “that      in all things, we should give thanks to the Lord.  It did not tell us to give thanks only when the circumstance or situation is pleasant but it says  “all things,”  When in trying period, we give thanks, that is putting our faith to test Then God will now turns things around for us, wipes away your tears and gives   us a new song.  But unfortunately, some people only give thanks after God turns situation around for them.  This  is not good enough.  In all things, give thanks.   According to Psalm 30^11-12,  David sang to God. And said  “Thou has  turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou has put off my          sackcloth and guided me with gladness. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.  O Lord my   God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.  Henceforth, I want us to sing like David

20.       FOR GOD WILL DO MORE FOR US:          There is an African adage that says when a child appreciates what you did for him/her yesterday; he/she  will receive more. When we appreciate the kindnesses of God in our lives and others, we position ourselves to be recipients of more from God. Those who thank God get    more from Him.  An ungrateful person shall go empty handed. If God requests from us or demands from us thanksgiving, we had better realized that He needs it from us. So who are you not to offer thanks to God for all His manifold blessing in your life? When you count your blessings one by one, as  said  by that song writer, you will be surprised at what the Lord has done for you.

Make thanksgiving a lifestyle to God both for yourself, for your family members,   for your loved ones, for your Nation and for everyone. Make it your lifestyle. The more thanksgiving you make, the more thanks-worthy events God will do for you.

Don’t forget, ingratitude is a sin. If you don’t know how to show appreciation, the sea of kindness for you will dry up. I have listed here some of the reasons why we must thank God. please, be honest and look at one or more of this reasons that  justifies why you should give thanks to the Lord. Because you have a reason to praise the Lord, I urge to begin right where you are. Now that you have perused these things, blessed are you if you begin to do them.

 * NOTE:  ALL BIBLE PASSAGES USED ARE FORM  KINGS JAMES            VERSION