SCRIPTURES
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Psalm 100
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
When I look at all the figures in the Bible, they were always thankful to God.
Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” But he was not in a circumstance in which he could rejoice and be happy every day.
He was constantly in life-or-death situations. People chased after him. And at one point, he had to escape from a building by descending in a basket.
Despite that, Apostle Paul did not grumble. He always said, “Thank you, God.”
For David too, he didn’t simply thank God because King Saul was not pursuing him. King Saul kept chasing after him and tried to kill him even though he was innocent. Saul should have awarded him since he helped the nation a lot. But instead, he tried to kill him.
So think about how unfair and barbaric that was!
But even in that situation David kept giving thanks to God.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
~ Psalm 100
In this way, all the figures of the Bible gave thanks to God even during tribulations.
All of them kept their faith while facing tribulations and persecution.
I pray that you will realize the principle of being thankful. And I pray deep thanksgiving will fill your life completely.