A Spirit of Thanksgiving.

A spirit of Thanksgiving breaks every oppressive yoke. This is my hypothesis and I’ve been testing it out for the past few years. These past few years, they’ve been H.A.R.D. For you too? For everyone I suspect, and for longer than just the year that must not be named. haha! From what I’m hearing from hearts all across every age, every people group, and every sphere of influence, in one way or another, we’ve all been struggling.

What pressed us into Jesus.

We’ve been struggling financially for what seems like a really long time. As soon as we bought a house, our first home ever in 17 years of marriage mind you, the enemy started attacking our finances in the most vicious of ways. But you know what? Jesus has always been faithful.

The mortgage gets paid every month. He sends some kind soul to bless us unexpectedly. He uses the ones who love us most to give into our lives with a generosity that blows our minds and shows us the love of Christ. The kind of giving that makes you know Jesus really sees you and knows you and loves you. The sort of kindness you desperately need in dark hours. The kind that speaks to your heart that everything is gonna be alright and you can breathe again.

My friend Christina once told me that to be a good giver, you have to learn to be a good receiver. We’ve been so humbled by life circumstances. Some days it feels like everything’s been stripped away. It has pressed us into Jesus and made us utterly dependant upon Him alone which is a good and safe place to be. We know we’re called to be generous givers and we know we’ve been in a season of testing because something is about to break in our favor. One of our inheritance words is “More than enough.” I feel it, I agree with it and I delcare it in Jesus name!

I have enough for today.

In the midst of this present wilderness, He has taught me to make two confessions of faith. The first of which is, “Thank you Jesus. I have enough for today.” I wrote it on a post it note and stuck it to my bathroom mirror as a friendly reminder. Some days just declaring it out loud brings me to tears. Truthfully, I sometimes worry about tomorrow, but He is asking me to be thankful for today’s provision. To think on Him and His goodness. To bring Him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. You know, the costly kind. But oh so precious in His sight.

“Oh, that men would praise and confess to the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8,15,21,31 AMPC

The above verse is repeated 4 times in Psalm 107. Each time, it comes at the end of a passage that talks about the varying hardships different people groups have endured. Each situation is unique but the result is the same. They cry to Him and He delivers them. The writer then directs the reader, “Oh! That men would praise Him for his goodness and loving-kindness and his WONDERFUL WORKS to the children of men!” Through this passage, God is showing us how He shows up when we cry out.

Thanksgiving breaks every oppressive yoke.

Some days, it doesn’t look or feel like we have enough. Especially on paper. These are the days I have to dig deep and remind myself of my second confession of faith. That is, a spirit of Thanksgiving breaks every oppressive yoke. It’s a faith walk for sure. But when I start praising and thanking God, my emotions begin to shift. I remember who He is and preach it and sing it to myself and over my circumstances. And you know what? He’s NEVER let us down. Nope. Not even one time.

TDT’s (Totally Doable Tips)

So…..you might be asking yourself, how do I find something to be thankful for when things look bleak? I’ve put this question out there many times and I’m sure I will again. Isn’t it funny how human we are? ::sheepish grin:: Here are a few ideas to help get you started. You can use any or all of them. Feel free to use what works for you and leave what doesn’t.

1. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring things to mind that you can be thankful for.
2. Read Psalm 107 and see if you can relate to any of the different situations represented there. Whenever I open up the Word, I ask the Holy Spirit to “Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from Your law. Let it find entrance into my heart that I may gain understanding.” See Psalm 119:18 & 130
3. You can be thankful for even the tiniest and seemingly insignificant things. Start there if needed and watch it grow from that place. Or maybe the flip side is true for you. You can only think of the big things. Start there and make it a game to see how you can break it down to the tiniest of things to be thankful for!
4. Think of as many things as you can and verbalize them in prayer or jot them down.
5. Start/keep a thankfulness journal. You could also look up as many scriptures as you can find on thankfulness and/or being grateful. I use the You Version Bible app on my phone and type a word into the search field. Super quick and easy!
6. Listen to this song or this one to enter into worship and lift your spirits! Rick Pino says that when we pray we agree with what God says and when we worship we agree with Who God is! Worship is powerful stuff.

One last thought.

I find that when I start practicing thankfulness, that heavy cloud of oppression dissipates pretty quickly and is replaced by joy! I’d love for you to try this experiment with me and see if the spirit of Thanksgiving truly breaks every opressive yoke that the enemy tries to throw at you. You can change the game on the devil by using thankfulness as a weapon against him. Try it! It’s pretty fun and yields happy heart results!

In thankfulness and praise,

Kim♥