THANKSGIVING - THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom 4:20, KJV)
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine, even though the olive crop fails, and the field lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, YET I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation”
(Hab 3:17-18, KJV)
Hello October! Wow! Gradually, the year 2023 is winding up. It’s October already. I welcome you to the Thanksgiving month. Our theme for the month is “Thanksgiving - the language of faith”.
When was the last time you thanked God? What was it that He did? We are used to thanking God whenever He does or gives us something. In other words, our thanksgiving comes AFTER an action/gift. But what if I told you that you do not have to wait for something to happen, for God to do something before you thank Him?
We all know the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chron 20; how that he went to war praising and thanking God. One thing we tend to overlook is the fact that this action of his was not a divine instruction. You see, God had told him in vs. 17 that He was going to take over the battle. All Jehoshaphat and the children of Israel needed to do was to “set themselves, stand still and see the salvation of God” (vs. 17). How did King Jehoshaphat respond to this? Praise! The victory had not yet come physically, all he had to hold on to was God’s promise, but that was more than enough. To him, the battle was already as good as won. I am reminded of the words of David in Ps 56:4,10 - “in God, I will praise His Word”. The children of Israel believed God so much that they burst forth into songs of praise. And you know what? God heard, and He moved in their favor (vs. 22). Thanksgiving is an expression of faith. It is saying “God, I do not understand all the details, but if you say things will end well for me, I believe You, and I thank You like it is already done.”
Another example is that of the father of faith. There is a reason Abraham is known as the father of faith. Rom 4:17-21 gives a very profound insight into the life of this trans-generational blessing of a man. God promised Abraham a child, a promise that seemed laughable given the prevailing reality of the effect of time on the bodies of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. However, we see something noteworthy in vs 19: “…he considered not his own body now dead…neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb…” Abraham did not deny the fact that his body was as good as dead; he chose to not focus on it nor let that be the basis of his mindset. Rather, he focused on that which was promised, on that which had been spoken (vs. 18). The Bible records that his faith did not waver. Instead he expressed it by giving thanks and glory to God (vs 20). Why? Because he was fully persuaded that the One who made a promise was well able to do as He had said (vs. 21). What has God said concerning you? What promise have you received from Him? Are you intending to wait until something happens before you begin to thank Him? Or do you see it fulfilled already with the eyes of faith, and so begin to thank Him now? In the Open Heavens of 2020/21, we were taught that when someone makes a promise to you, there are two things to consider: the person speaking, and the content of the promise. There is a saying that you do not ask a frog to give you a chair because it is squatting (if it had a chair, it won’t be squatting). A man can only give what he has, and even he is limited; there are things that the richest of men cannot promise. But not our God! He is Almighty; He is sovereign; He is unmatched in wealth and glory; there is nothing He cannot do. So when God promises you in His word that the plans He has for you are good, that He is able to make all things work out for your good, you had better believe it, and thank Him for it. Begin to thank God for His good and precious promises. King Hezekiah understood this; he began to sing his song before the promise became a reality (Isa 38:20). Thanksgiving is indeed the language of faith.
Another example of thanksgiving as an expression of faith in God is seen in Hab 3:17-18. The picture painted in these two verses is enough to leave a man depressed and overwhelmed. But not Habakkuk! After listing all the problems in vs. 17, he began vs. 18 with a powerful word: YET. The word “YET” is saying, “Yes, I know things are not working as they should; I have toiled all night and have nothing to show for it; I have kept myself pure, yet I am unmarried; I have done all the certifications there is to be done, but no callbacks, no job offers…the fields lie barren and empty after all that toiling. But, despite all these things, I will rejoice in God; I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Hallelujah! This is such a great mindset to have. Notice that the focus of his thanksgiving is on who God is to him. In his words, I may not have any physical reason to rejoice as it were, but I will rejoice instead in the knowledge of who God is to me: He is the God who saves me, the One who can save me from these issues. I will rejoice because He is my strength and He will cause my hinds’ feet to walk upon my high places (vs. 19). In the words of Don Moen, “I will sing, I will praise through the sorrow and the pain; even in my darkest hour, I will sing and I will praise.” Why? Not because loss is easy, or my grief light, but because Your Word is true; because even though I do not know how I am going to get past this hurt, I trust that you are able to keep, help, uphold, and strengthen me.
We know that God is pleased when we praise Him (Ps 147:1). We also know that it is impossible to please God without faith (Heb 11:6). This therefore implies that praising and thanking God is an act of faith, an act that God delights in. We must understand that God is deserving of all the praise; He is worthy of it all (Rev 4:11); He does not need to do anything to deserve or earn our thanks. We magnify Him and extol His virtues when we praise Him, and as we do so, we express our faith in Him. How? Well, the one who is praising God for being good must believe that God exists and is indeed good. So praising God is an expression that we believe who He is. He is our rock, and our fortress; our deliverer, our God, our strength, the One in whom we trust, our buckler, the horn of our salvation, and our high tower (Ps 18:2).
Remember the ten lepers who encountered Jesus on His way to Jerusalem (Lk 17:12-19)? Only one returned to thank and worship Him, and how did Jesus respond? “Thy faith has made thee whole” (vs. 19). In other words, He equated worship as an act of faith. Like in all the examples above, and those that the Holy Spirit will reveal in the course of our study, one thing is certain: we are to praise and thank God in all and for all things, doing so because we believe in Him (Eph 5:20; 2 Corith 4:13).
Therefore, no matter the situation you are in this season, switch to a thanksgiving mode. Thank God for His goodness, kindness, faithfulness, promises etc. Keep it rolling, don’t let it stop. He is worthy of all honour and glory. There is nothing He cannot do or change. Rejoice in Him and let your thanksgiving ascend to Him as a sacrifice. It is my prayer that as we declare our faith in God through thanksgiving and praise, He will come through mightily for us in Jesus’ name. AMEN!