Thanksgiving: A Heart Condition!
Thanksgiving is much more than a holiday celebration; it is more of a heart condition! It is more than a celebration of food; it is the celebration of faith! Satan does not want our heart to be free to thank God for His blessings; he wants us to have a heart attack! Satan doesn’t want you to have a celebration of faith but collated arteries of fear and worry. Our lives are filled with worry. The English word for “worry” comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word which means “to strangle.” This is an apt description of the emotional pain we feel when we worry. What is strangled is our peace of mind. There is a way however to recapture that peace of mind (and heart and soul!) it involves a process of correct thinking which will lead to correct living.
As believers thanksgiving should not be reserved for one day a year; for that matter we also should not withhold our thanksgiving for “Sundays only.” We should live a lifestyle of thanksgiving. Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This is not Paul’s suggestion for the day, he wants us to live a joy filled life; a life so full of the joy of the Lord that is splashes out and touches those around us.
It’s time we stop wasting so much energy on worry and begin to rejoice in the Lord! This is much more than just an encouragement, it is an emphasis for life. As a believer if you go through a day without rejoicing then you haven’t really lived. Jesus said the thief comes to rob steal kill and destroy, but He has come to give you life—life abundantly (John 10:10). How many days are you going to let Satan rob you of really living? REJOICE!
Satan wants you to focus on your circumstances and miss out on really living. Paul says focus on the Lord and rejoice; then you are really living!
Coach Jimmy Johnson was asked what he told his players before leading the Dallas Cowboys onto the field for the 1993 Super Bowl. He said, "I told them that if I laid a two-by-four across the floor, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be on walking the length of that board. But if I put that same board 10 stories high between two buildings, only a few would make it, because the focus would be on falling." Johnson told his players not to focus on the crowd, the media, or the possibility of falling, but to focus on each play of the game as if it were a good practice session. The Cowboys won the game 52-7.
God is in control. The Bible tells us that He will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. God has not overlooked you; trust Him. Renew your mind and think on the right things! In so doing you will find that you can rejoice for God is at work in and through the circumstances of your life. Rejoice in the Lord! Guard your emotions as you respond to life with gentleness. Rejoice in the Lord as you refuse to give a place in your heart for fear and worry; instead pray about everything. Rejoice in the Lord as you renew your mind; think the right thoughts. When you learn to rejoice in the Lord, thanksgiving will overflow with the peace of God.
Serving His Kingdom Together,
Travis Mowell