10 – Whatever You Do … Give Thanks to God

In our daily lives all of us will face trials and tribulations. Some seem to move from one crisis to the next . . . failing health of parents, grave personal illness, rebellious teenagers, depression, job loss, financial burdens, divorce, the so-called “mid-life crisis”. The list is endless. Yet many Christians seem to handle such situations much better than others. How is that possible? The Word of God teaches us that no matter the circumstances, whatever you do, we are to give thanks to God.

Colossians 3:15-17 (ESV) – ¹⁵And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything IN the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

You may have noticed that I capitalized the word “IN” above in verse 17. When we “do everything IN the name of the Lord Jesus” we are to do everything IN total dependence upon God and not ourselves, all the while “giving thanks (thanksgiving praise) to God the Father through Him.” When you were saved, God placed His Holy Spirit IN you so that He could live and be seen by others through you. He created you IN His image and He is IN you to perform His works through you. Christian, you need to stand aside and let Him that is IN you deal with ALL of our circumstances.

There is peace that awaits the Christian who can always voice their gratitude to the Lord no matter the circumstances. Giving thanks to the Lord helps us to keep our focus on God instead of our problems and aligns us with God’s will for our lives. After all, we know that the victory over ALL of our trials has already been won by God. As Paul also wrote to the Thessalonica church in the midst of their trials “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB).

Oh Holy Father, the Lord that provides (Jehovah Jireh), we place our trust in You to handle ALL of our circumstances through Your Holy Spirit that INdwells us. We give you Thanksgiving Praise for the peace that you provide in our most difficult times. Remind us continually Father that whatever we do we are to give thanks to God. Amen and amen.

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For additional reflection on this topic see Jim’s article: Facing Tough Times

Click Here to Link to ALL Articles in the Thanksgiving Praise Series

About jimdavenport

Jim Davenport resides in the USA in Northeast Georgia, is a member of a Southern Baptist Church and is a retired Christian business man. Jim and his wife Charlotte have one son and daughter in law, Keven and Amy, four grandchildren – Ashlyn (Davenport) & Josh Murphy, Mason & Rebecca (Knight) Davenport and four great-grandchildren. Jim and Charlotte own a mountain get-away home located on Lookout Mountain in Alabama where they spend many spring, summer and fall days working in their raised bed organic garden. Jim has served as a Deacon and Trustee in his local church most of his adult life and on the Executive Committee and Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees of Shorter University, an intentionally Christian institution located in Rome, Georgia. Jim has a passion for the word of God and has always believed that Christian principles should guide every aspect of his life. He also loves Christian music and often served as a tenor soloist in his church. One of the highlights of his life was the nearly 20 years he spent singing with The Good News, a Southern Gospel quartet. Jim served as an Information Technology professional his entire working career of 50 years holding senior positions in and consulting with hundreds of world-class organizations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand. Jim remains as President and CEO of InfoSys Solutions Associates, Inc. and is a retired partner of IT Governance Partners, LLC, both of which are “Trusted Advisor” technology and business consulting firms. Jim has authored a number of books available at www.jimdavenport.me/jims-books. His blog has ben read by readers from more than 170 countries. Jim holds both a BS and an MS in Mathematics from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia and completed Management Development Training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

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