Living in Gratitude
In His Presence: Acts 16:16-34
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
In even the worst situations there’s always a reason to give thanks. There was a man who needed his dress pants ironed. While his wife was ironing them she burned them. The man began to get angry, but then he paused a moment to think about it. He realized he could thank the Lord that his leg wasn’t in that pair of pants when they were burned!
The apostles Paul and Silas were falsely accused, arrested, and put into jail. They were beaten with rods and thrown into the inner prison, their feet placed in stocks. “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). Even in pain, they were singing and praising God. Later, because of their testimony the jailor was saved.
Job was a righteous man. He prayed and offered sacrifices not only for himself but also for his children. One day, disaster struck his family and possessions, and he lost everything. Job grieved and mourned, but he also fell down in worship of God and said these words: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
One Minute Please
“The Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalms 84:11). How diligent are you in giving thanks to God?
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