The Cycle of Seeing

Warriors Arise: November 23, 2023

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

From Psalm 100 and so many other verses on rejoicing in the Lord and all He has done, we see Paul's writing in Romans. Most of us learned from our parents to say, "Thank you," when someone has given us a gift, done something for us or given us a compliment. Why, when we get older do we forget to say thank you? Maybe people stop giving gifts, doing things for others or giving compliments because we stopped being thankful toward their kindness toward us.

For obvious reasons, we are to be thankful to God. There is something every day to show gratitude to God. As a family, we started back in October keeping a specific journal on where we have seen God intervene in our day. Many days, we have been able to fill up a page or more.

Here is what I have noticed: when we focus on seeing God intervene in our day, it creates a cycle of Seeing

1. We see God more easily each day because we are looking for Him.

2. Because we see Him more, we talk to Him more.

3. Because we talk to Him more, we ask more specifically for what we need.

4. Because we ask more specifically for what we need, we recognize God answering our prayer.

5. The more we recognize God answering our prayer, the more thankful we are,

and back to 1. The more thankful we are, we see God more easily.

Consider reading Romans 1:18-29. It explains the importance of being thankful for the things God has done. When we are NOT thankful for what God has done, our eyes grow dull and we become foolish. We don't recognize His involvement in our life even though He is still there. Being thankful is worshiping God and giving Him praise for what He has done. Our parents taught us to do this at a very young age. We are to thank people for what they have done for us, so why wouldn't we thank God?

When we reject thanking God for what He has done for us, we are dishonoring Him, even slighting Him. Thanking God doesn't change His character, it changes my character. It changes my relationship with Him. He will always love me, but when I stop thanking Him, I am no longer loving Him. God is good and I am thankful His mercy endures forever. I know if I were to thank Him for everything, all day long, I would get nothing else done. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be intentional to take the time to thank Him for the new things He has done for me today.

How about we all make a comment below of a specific action God has taken on our behalf this month?

Father, I am incredibly thankful for all You have done in my life. I stand in awe of You. One day is not enough to thank You for my freedom here in America and the freedom I have in Christ. I am thankful, I can worship You and come together with a corporate body to celebrate You. Today, I want my eyes to be open. Remember me of things You have done this past week, month, and year. I want to celebrate You today. Open my eyes to see You in Jesus' name amen.

A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,

Veridee Joy Hand

Join together as Believers in Jesus Christ to pray and to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.