21-Day-Fast Devotional - Day 08: Thankfulness
Thankfulness
written by Elder Diane Boyd
“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
This sounds like simple advice from Paul but doesn’t always seem easy. We live in a world where life is hard and can be complicated. If we are truthful with ourselves, not every day feels like a day to be thankful for. When we let the world creep in it is easier to see the negative, to forget to connect, and lose sight of what God’s will for us really is.
Paul is reminding us to keep it simple. When we keep it simple, we can see there is always something to be thankful for, life, breath, salvation, family, our church home, our loved ones etc... When we are thankful and express that, we are led to prayer. It leads us to connect with our Father and allows room for His Spirit to dwell. When we are connected to the Spirit, He dwells with us, and we know that we belong. It is in that belonging and knowing who we are in Him that we find joy.
It’s that simple, it is all connected. Thankfulness leads to prayer which leads to Joy. Let’s choose to be thankful for the simple things no matter how hard the complicated things may be. Connect with God in being thankful for the simple and watch Him help you stay joyful in the complicated.
Prayer for today: Lord, we thank you for Your revealing Word. Today we pray that we can be thankful in the midst of our circumstances whatever they may be. We pray that a washing of Your Spirit over us would lead to a joyful praise of You. It may not be simple or easy, but gives us strength this day to connect to You so that we can experience Your joy!
Check back here, on the Christ Fellowship blog every morning at 7:00am, where that day’s devotional will be posted. Feel free to share, repost, and send the devotional to anyone you feel might benefit from it. And feel free to leave a comment on the blog post sharing what God has shown you that day through your fasting and the devotional.