Bible Reading: Psalm 97
“Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness” – Psalm 97:12(KJV)
The twin virtues of joy and thanksgiving is a channel to the topmost top in Christ. To live a vibrant and successful Christian life, one should develop a lifestyle of joy and thanksgiving. Joy is a panacea for failure and depression, while thanksgiving is an antidote to failure. Always rejoicing in the LORD sets you on the plane of success.
Joy ventilates the soul and releases into you the freshness of life. Joy is a spiritual antidote to heaviness of heart. Joyful heart is lively and attracts positive and good ideas. There are two sides to life: the good and the evil sides which also represents light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, hope and hopelessness, truth and falsehood, positive and negative, and at the apex of it all is God and Satan. Joy attracts the good side, while sorrow and depression attracts the evil side. It was for this reason Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:4(KJV) “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.”
The activities of God in our lives produces joy which when properly articulated leads to thanksgiving. When we render thanks to God for what He has promised it produces result by manifesting His glory via His word. God’s word is the carrier of His covenanted promises and they are bound by His divine power to materialize. The powerful effect of thanksgiving and joy is properly illustrated in Jeremiah 30:19(KJV), “And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be small.” Thanksgiving is initiated by the act of gratitude which is predicated on trust in His promises and previous acts. Confidence and trust in God’s ability releases the spiritual virtue of joy which begins to appear in thanksgiving to God. When the bible says “at the remembrance of his holiness,” it is referring to His sworn and infallible promises based on His holiness. God’s promises are eternal and it cannot fail. That is why the heavens and the earth will pass away but His word abided forever. His word carries the integrity of His person. God cannot lie hence His word cannot fail. So when we believe Him and His word from our heart it results into rapturous praise of His person thanking Him of His infallible promises. It takes the righteous in heart who has experienced the inexhaustible love of God to stay rejoicing in him irrespective of the circumstances, and it is such a heart that will give thanks to the LORD for His righteousness. The Psalmist operated in such relationship with God, hence he is able to comprehend this assertion.
Thanksgiving produces the following: –
- Thanksgiving preserves the blessings of God in our lives. Malachi 2:2(KJV)
- Thanksgiving multiplies the blessings of God in our lives; Jeremiah 30:19(KJV), John 6:11(KJV)
- Thanksgiving perfects your blessings. Jeremiah 30:20-21(KJV)
- Thanksgiving provides us access to the part of life. Psalm 16:11(KJV)
The above benefits only accrue to thanksgiving flowing from a righteous heart. We were made to know in Romans 3:23(KJV) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” What this presupposes is that there is none righteous before God. In order to reconcile us properly to himself He needed to cover us with righteousness. This He provided in Christ Jesus as encapsulated in 2 Corinthians 5:21(KJV), “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” This is what gave us a place in God’s righteousness which makes us to rejoice in the LORD and to render thanksgiving.
I invite the reader of this piece today to hand over your entire life to Christ and be a recipient of His righteousness so that you will be completely reconciled to God as your father. It is only then you will begin to enjoy the ceaseless flow of joy and thanksgiving.
Prayer: Father, help me to continuously flow in rapturous praise in appreciation for your love and eternal promises to me.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo