As we step into this last week of our Corporate Fast I want to encourage you to GIVE THANKS! One of the greatest challenges we have as followers of Jesus Christ is in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

This is one of the those things that is not possible except through Christ's strength. We find ourselves in situations and circumstances all the time that do not give us reason to have joy or give thanks. Yet Paul gives us this charge in Philippians 4:4-7, "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can
understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in
Christ Jesus."

The thing that always amazes me about this, is Paul is sitting in a dungeon, chained between two soldiers waiting to be executed for His faith. So it is difficult for us to say, "Well Paul just doesn't understand the situation I am in, then he wouldn't expect me to choose joy and thank God in the midst of it." I think it is safe to say that Paul is in a more difficult and challenging situation when he says this than whatever place we find ourselves.

In Psalm 35, we can tell that David has all kinds of people trying to run him down and destroy him and in the middle of this David says, "Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation." Over and over again in Scripture we see people making the same claims and choices. 26 times David says, "give thanks to the Lord" in the book of Psalms alone.

Psalm 30:11-12, "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."

Psalm 28:7, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

Psalm 107:1, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

In the book of Revelation we see the twenty-four elders surrounding the throne of God proclaiming, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign."

May we have the heart of David, Paul and the twenty-four elders that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, we will, "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." May your source of joy be the love of Christ and may you choose to give thanks because God is the alpha and omega!

Choosing Joy in Thanksgiving, PC & Ishtar