The attitude of gratitude alters
our perspective and changes our negative emotions into positive ones. It lifts
us out of the quick sand of circumstances and allows us to triumph regardless
of how bad life seems at the moment.
When we were entrenched in the
kingdom of darkness, Jesus' called us out to enjoy His Kingdom of light. This
makes the devil really angry. Think about the devil for a moment.
He attempted to get rid of Jesus
by inciting Herod to kill all the babies in the area that were two years and
younger. Thankfully, God already told Joseph in a dream to move Mary and Jesus
out of the province.
Then, after Jesus' fast of forty
days and nights, Satan attempted to get Jesus to worship Him in exchange for a
few loaves of bread or ownership of the kingdoms of this world (Matthew
4:1-11).
The devil attempts to tempt new
Believers in this same way. He discourages us and then sets a trap; hoping that
as new Believer we will forsake our new found devotion to God and return to
Satan's kingdom instead.
Jesus defeated Satan by quoting
the Word of God. We can do the same thing. In fact, if we draw near to God
first, then resist the devil, he has to flee from us (James 4:7-11).
God never leaves us; but due to
our distracted lifestyle, our chaotic choices and our carnal leadings, we often
leave Him. The way back into His presence is to praise Him for the good and the
bad in our circumstances.
God actually inhabits our praises
(Psalm 22:3). Christ in us makes all the difference in our focus, attitude,
thoughts, feelings and actions. We trust only in Him and He delivers and
regenerates us with His love, peace and joy.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for
redeeming us by the blood of the Lamb, for inhabiting our praises, and for
teaching us to draw near to You and to resist the devil. We appreciate the
marvelous body You created for us to dwell in, for our soul that is the true
essence of who we are, and for recovering our spirit from the death caused by sin,
and giving us Jesus' righteousness in exchange.
We are never truly out of topics for
which to praise You, and we know that praising You in the negative circumstances,
as well as the positive ones, will result in You being able to work out even
the worst issues for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). Teach us, in the same way
that You taught the apostle Paul, to learn contentment that does not depend on the
circumstances with which we are dealing (Philippians 4:11).
Thought for the Day:
Regardless of the intervention,
or what we view as the lack of intervention provided for us by the Lord, we can
express gratitude to Him, because His ways are higher than ours; He always
provides all of our needs since He knows everything from the end to the
beginning.
- Isaiah 46:10, 55:8-9
