THANKFULNESS - THE FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”                                                         – St. Ambrose

Last fall, while preparing a message on thanksgiving ,my heart was deeply stirred about the goodness of God.  I felt led to share it in this column.  The quote by St. Ambrose was the jell that made it come together.

GIVING THANKS TO GOD IS THE FIRS STEP TO SUCCESS

Giving thanks to God is the first step to real success, being thankful for his grace.  God is the source of all goodness, mercy and grace.  God is the source of all healing, health and strength. God is the source of  all love, wisdom and knowledge. And since God is the giver of life, it makes good sense to thank Him for everything He has given us.

WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD?  WHAT SUCCESS COULD WE HAVE WITHOUT THE GOODNESS OF GOD

Where would we be if it weren’t for the peace, joy and comfort that He gives? How would we feel if there were no forgiveness of sins, no freedom from guilt and condemnation, no Holy Spirit to guide us, protect us and heal us? And no Heaven or hope beyond the grave?

Only one word suffices – hopeless. We would be beset by a spirit of fear, depression and hopelessness.

THANKSGIVING: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH?

St. Ambrose called the returning of thanks to God an urgent duty!  And I agree one hundred per cent. We must be thankful, the least we can do is to thank God for His mercy, blessing and provision to us. We should thank God for food, thanks God for clothing, home, loved ones, friends, church and community.  We must thank God for our health, for keeping us safe and for allowing us to prosper and our success.  

THANKFULNESS - THE FIRST STEP TO SUCCESS - We will become more successful when we develop this attitude of thinking. 

The Bible says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil. 43: 4-7) In his letter to the Galatian church, St. Paul admonishes them to relax and quit worrying because God answers prayer and meets every need.

GOD ENCOURAGES US TO BRING YOUR BURDENS TO THE LORD

God encourages believers to bring their burdens and requests to the Lord  in prayer and supplication because God is our Provider! One of His names is Jehovah - Jireh which means ‘The Lord will provide for Himself a sacrifice.’ (Genesis 22: 14).

Jesus was the Sacrifice that God provided to die for the sins of the world! And since He made the ultimate sacrifice to save us, surely He will provide for us! St. Paul makes that abundantly clear: “But my God shall supply all your need according to the riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4: 19)

THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS BEING THANKFUL

HERE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS – We must bring our requests to God with thanksgiving for past blessings, and in faith that He will meet out present needs! The spirit of thanklessness has pervaded our society in general.

SOCIETY HAS STOPPED BEING THANKFUL - ATTITUDES HAVE BECOME VERY SELFISH AND GREEDY 

We see this in the attitude of children towards their parents, young people toward authority figures and the population in general toward government! The attitude of doing our thing, flaunting deviant behaviour, wanting something for nothing, and the lack of thankfulness describes this generation to a tee.

In Canada, we have seen a major shift in dedication to God, family and community.  Moral guidelines have loosened, new laws enacted that embolden criminals, the normalization and empowering of deviants, a dubbing down of education, and a degeneration of the English language through perverted rock and roll and rap music.

The corrupt, scandal plagued liberal governments of Jean Chretian and P.M. Paul Martin have, by example, encouraged pork barreling among their ministers, catered to pro homosexual groups, pro-abortion groups and anti-evangelical lobby groups! And sadly, by their policies brought a deep divide between eastern and western Canada.  All this has had an effect upon the psyche of the public and eroded faith in all institutions, including government and church.

What has been the outcome of all this? A sense of uncertainty, cynicism and an attitude of uncaring and thanklessness. King David stated: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” An old poem warns of what will happen if the basics are removed:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of a rider, the battle was lost;
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost

Here’s the point, if St. Ambrose was right and if giving thanks to our Maker is an urgent duty, then thankfulness is not only the key to our success but also a major foundation stone of Christianity, democracy and civilized society.

Building on the the analogy of the above poem, thanksgiving could be the nail that was lost, sending out a ripple effect impacting the entire society. The shoe could be the family, the horse representing the school, the rider is the church, the battle the government and the kingdom, society at large.

THANKLESSNESS IS A SIGN OF LAST DAYS

The Bible warns: “This know also, that in the last days perilous days shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.....(2 Timothy 3: 1-5)

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5: 20). But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15: 55-57)

We have so much to thank God for, the most important being the mercy and grace of God. But without Jesus coming to earth, we would have neither! St. Paul summed it all up when he said: “Thanks be unto God for (Jesus) His unspeakable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9: 15)

he Bible says: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” (2 Corinthians 8: 9)

St. Paul revealed the extent to which the Almighty showed His love toward us: God the Son was incarnated (God in human flesh), so that He could suffer, bleed and die for the sins of Adam’s fallen race! There are no words to describe that great act of love and compassion! That is why Jesus is called the ‘UNSPEAKABLE GIFT.'

Talk about becoming POOR - God becoming man – that is the ultimate grace (unmerited favour) God could bestow upon humanity! Jesus “emptied Himself” to be born as a babe in Bethlehem , in order to give us His forgiveness, peace, joy, contentment, liberty and eternal life.

“For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus Christ) to be sin for us who knew no sin.; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5: 21). This Scripture proves that God made His Son the scapegoat for our sins. That’s why St. Paul stated: “Jesus was delivered for our offences (sins) and raised again for our justification.” (Romans 4: 25)

WHO KILLED JESUS CHRIST?

Many blame the Jews, because He was falsely accused by religious Jewish leaders and turned over to the Romans to be executed for blasphemy. Others blame the Romans (Italians) because they condemned Him to death, blasphemed Him, brutally scourged Him and nailed Him to the cross! The Holy Scriptures, however, clear up the controversy.

Neither the Jews nor the Italians are responsible for the death of Jesus! The Bible says: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked (lawless) hands have crucified and slain.” (Acts 2: 23 ).

The Bible says that, “He made Him sin for us.” It was God’s will that Jesus would suffer as our substitute and be put to death for the sins of the world. God laid all the accumulative sins from all ages upon His Son and He carried them vicariously to Calvary , fulfilling the type of the Old Testament scapegoat. (Lev.16:1-22)

“For by grace are ye saved though faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9) The Scriptures teach the ‘prevenient grace’ of God, meaning that God reached out to us, before we sought His help. All we have do is believe on Him and receive His great love and mercy into out hearts.

THE KEY IS SUCCESS IS BEING THANKFUL

Someone stated: “Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve.  Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve.”  And I am thankful to God for that, aren’t you?