THANK THE LORD

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Text: Psa. 118:1-10 (TLB)

Verse 1-4: “OH THANK THE LORD, for he’s so good! His lovingkindness is forever …. Let the Gentile converts chant, “His lovingkindness is forever.” Anytime you say ‘thank you Jesus’, you are doing the right thing. Psa. 92:1 says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.” One thing you can never overdo is thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the will of God; anytime you offer thanks, you are doing the will of God and destroying the mystery of ingratitude.

Thanksgiving shows that you are grateful, so it is from a good heart. Thanksgiving brings increase according to Psa. 67:5-6, “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God even our own God shall bless us.” If you receive anything and you consider it not enough, don’t grumble because grumbling brings diminishing returns. Rather than grumble, receive it with thanksgiving and you will connect to a supernatural release.

Thanksgiving brings overflow. One of the ways to destroy poverty is to deploy the weapon of thanksgiving; you must do it deliberately, intentionally and ceaselessly. Thanksgiving releases the miraculous because it connects you to the realm of the supernatural with ease. The atmosphere of thanksgiving is an atmosphere of divine intervention; it is an atmosphere that magnetizes the blessings of God. Jesus was confronted with a seemingly impossible situation when his friend Lazarus died. What did he do? Jesus gave thanks because he knew that his Father had heard him, “he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth” and he that was dead for four days rose up. (John 11:43).

The anointing of thanksgiving can turn impossible and stubborn situations around. Stubborn challenges bow under the anointing of thanksgiving; there is a flow that is unstoppable when you, from the depth of your heart, offer thanksgiving to the Almighty. Thanksgiving brings perfection. In the story of the healing of the ten lepers in Luke 17:12-19, Jesus healed ten lepers but only one came back to him to say thank you and he was made completely whole, completely restored. So, thanksgiving brings restoration, it brings perfection. If you want God to perfect your miracle, give thanks.

Verse 5 – “In my distress I prayed to the Lord and he answered me and rescued me.” Pray – Father, I thank you for when I call upon you, you answer me. Thank you for your various interventions at difficult times in my life, home and family. Thank you because when I called upon you in any distress, you answered me and rescued me and delivered me. May your name be praised, thank you mighty God, in Jesus name.

Verse 6 – “He is for me! How can I be afraid? What can mere man do to me? If God is for you, if God is with you and on your side, you can rest assured that fear has no place at all in any area of your life. Pray – “Lord, I thank you, I celebrate the fact that you are with me, I magnify your name because you are not only with me, you are for me. Thank you because there is absolutely nothing that man can do to me. Thank you because you are with me, I fear not, thank you faithful God because you are my shield, my buckler and my fortress.

Verse 7 – “The Lord is on my side, he will help me. Let those who hate me beware.” The worst enemy anyone can have is God and many people inadvertently make themselves the enemies of God by supporting the enemy of God and hating the one whom God has endorsed. Wisdom demands that you always support what God loves and run away from what God hates. There are some people who go to Church but they are enemies of God. Any agent of darkness is an enemy of God. Pray – the Lord is on my side, he will help me in all my decisions this year; he will help me in all my endeavours this year, he will help every member of my family to excel. God will help us to be all that he wants us to be, he will help me to fulfil his purpose, he will help me to be fruitful, to prosper, to flourish, to succeed, to be victorious and to enjoy abundant life. Let those who hate me beware, in Jesus name.

Verse 8-9 – “It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men. It is better to take refuge in him than in the mightiest king! One of the ways to connect to God is to trust him one hundred percent; don’t have a plan B. There is no better alternative to divine connection. Your greatest success factor is the God connection, maximize it. If God is your refuge and strength, you will be in business forever; no evil power can crush you, you will have victory after victories. There is no safety anywhere apart from God. Many people are pursuing things and are becoming the enemies of God in the process, this is foolishness. Any pursuit that will draw you outside the purpose of God for your life is your enemy. This year, you need to be circumspect, you must draw lines and be an enforcer of righteousness so that heaven will continually back up your efforts. When you allow God to be your refuge and your fortress, irrespective of the battles, the name of the Lord will be activated in your situation so much so that the miraculous will become your everyday experience.

Pray – Lord, this year, more than ever before, help me to put my confidence in you and not in man but in you and in your alone. Father, please do not allow anything that can overwhelm me to come my way. Make it impossible for me to derail from your purpose for my life. Make it impossible for me to miss it, don’t let me be entrapped. Any trap they have set on my path, Father, send your angels to remove it. Help me to say yes to the things I should say yes to and to say no to the things I should say no to. Grant me the grace to walk hand in hand with you so that your purpose may be fulfilled in my life. Lord, I need your divine endorsement, grant that when you look down upon me, your face will beam with smile. Thank you, faithful God, in Jesus name.

Verse 10 – “Though all nations of the world attack me, I will match out behind his banner and destroy them.” King James version says, “all nation compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.” There is an anointing in the name of the Lord that you must experience this year. Pray – Lord, I declare that praise awaits you in every area of my life, you will harvest plenty of praise from my life. Thank you, Lord, for you are my strength, my succour, my shield, my fortress. Thank you my defence, my rock, I worship you, I depend on you, take all the glory in Jesus name. Amen.

ACTION POINT

Spend quality time in the presence of God today to appreciate Him for His goodness and mercies towards you and your family. GIVE THANKS.