THANKSGIVING!!!
In ALL circumstances, give thanks and praise to God – The Creator of ALL (seen and unseen!)
Was Joseph ‘happy’ in jail? The ONE Thing he focused on was doing all he did well; result –
The LORD was with Joseph; God showed him kindness and granted Joseph favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. Genesis 39:21-23 New International Version (NIV)
Period of training! And we read what occured… In prison, the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison. Watch what happened – You (Joseph) shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger.
Hallelujah!!! Glory to God in The HIGHEST!!! Training period! Joseph could have been bitter after he interpreted the dreams of two prisoners, the cup bearer was asked to mention Joseph to Pharoah; for years Joseph was forgotten till the Pharoah had a dream –
Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”
So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.
Remember this!
There is an account in The Word that might make some sad… The account of Samson. Where do I start?
Samson’s Ten Feats of Strength and Heroism
Part 1:
Three mentions of The “Spirit of The LORD”
1. The killing of the lion 14:5–9 “The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him” (14:6).
2. The killing of 30 Philistines 14:19 “The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him” (14:19).
3. The burning of the fields 15:4–6
4. Another slaughter of the Philistines 15:7–8
5. Escape from ropes and killing of 1,000 Philistines 15:14–17 “The Spirit of The LORD rushed upon him” (15:14).
Part 2:
No mention of The “Spirit of The LORD”
6. The Gaza-gate incident16:37. Escape from the bowstrings 16:9
8. Escape from the new ropes 16:12
9. Escape from the loom 16:14
10. Final destruction of 3,000 Philistines 16:28–30
Right quick. Decisions are 🔑 in The Kingdom of God!
Ask God for Wisdom and Discernment: James 1:5
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” God doesn’t make decisions for us, though. He gives us the gift of free will so that we can make decisions and choose to Love Him.
When he is a young adult, Samson leaves the hills of his people to see the cities of Philistia. He falls in love with a Philistine woman from Timnah, whom he decides to marry, ignoring the objections of his parents over the fact that she is not an Israelite.
Samson Marries a Philistine Woman
Samson went down to Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman. When he returned, he spoke to his father and mother. He said, “I’ve seen a Philistine woman in Timnah. Get her for me. I want her to be my wife.”
His father and mother replied, “Can’t we find a wife for you among your relatives? Isn’t there one among any of our people? Do you have to go to the Philistines to get a wife? They aren’t God’s people. They haven’t even been circumcised.”
But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” Samson’s parents didn’t know that the Lord wanted things to happen this way. He was working out his plans against the Philistines. That’s because the Philistines were ruling over Israel at that time.
Samson went down to Timnah. His father and mother went with him. They approached the vineyards of Timnah. Suddenly a young lion came roaring toward Samson. Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on Samson. So he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as he might have torn a young goat apart. But he didn’t tell his father or mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman. He liked her.
Some time later, he was going back to marry her. But he turned off the road to look at the lion’s dead body. He saw large numbers of bees and some honey in it. He dug out the honey with his hands. He ate it as he walked along. Then he joined his parents again. He gave them some honey. They ate it too. But he didn’t tell them he had taken it from the lion’s dead body.
Samson’s father went down to see the woman. Samson had a feast prepared there. He was following the practice of young men when they married their wives. When the people saw Samson, they gave him 30 men to be his companions.
“Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson said to the companions. “The feast will last for seven days. Give me the answer to the riddle before the feast ends. If you do, I’ll give you 30 linen shirts. I’ll also give you 30 sets of clothes. But suppose you can’t give me the answer. Then you must give me 30 linen shirts. You must also give me 30 sets of clothes.”
“Tell us your riddle,” they said. “Let’s hear it.”
Samson replied,
“Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.”
For three days they couldn’t give him the answer.
On the fourth day they spoke to Samson’s wife. “Get your husband to explain the riddle for us,” they said. “If you don’t, we’ll burn you to death. We’ll burn up everyone in your family. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”
Then Samson’s wife threw herself on him. She sobbed, “You hate me! You don’t really love me. You have given my people a riddle. But you haven’t told me the answer.”
“I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother,” he replied. “So why should I explain it to you?” She cried during the whole seven days the feast was going on. So on the seventh day he finally told her the answer to the riddle. That’s because she kept on asking him to tell her. Then she explained the riddle to her people.
Before sunset on the seventh day of the feast the men of the town spoke to Samson. They said,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Samson said to them,
“You have plowed with my young cow.
If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have known the answer to my riddle.”
Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on Samson. He went down to Ashkelon. He struck down 30 of their men. He took everything they had with them. And he gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Samson was very angry as he returned to his father’s home. Samson’s wife was given to someone else. She was given to a companion of Samson. The companion had helped him at the feast.
We must note that this was not Delilah! As we mentioned decisions! To summarize; Samson’s hair was not to be cut! Delilah was fooled a number of times. She had been bribed to discover the source of Samson’s strength finally he told her – his uncut hair. He was cuddled to sleep and his hair shorn. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that The LORD had left him.
Torture! When the enemy finally subdued him, after cutting his hair (Judges 16:9), the first thing they did was put out his eyes (Judges 16:21). Little did they know that they had done Samson a favour. By taking out his eyes, they eliminated the lifelong hindrance that Samson had. He entertained the Philistines: Samson, blind and humiliated, is put on display in the crowded temple for the entertainment of thousands of men and women, including the Philistine lords.
The good news of Samson’s story is the same message many of us sing to our children: we are weak, but God is strong. If we put our hope in ourselves or others we become like Samson: weak and enslaved. Samson is a reminder that our true strength and hope is found in the Lord.
Thanksgiving brings total deliverance from all your troubles. Psalms 50:14-15, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” Thanksgiving provokes the blessings of God upon your life.
David had a thanksgiving lifestyle and was grateful to God for everything He did for him. The Bible told us in Psalms 119:164, that David praised God seven times a day for His righteous judgments. Because of David thanksgiving lifestyle, God said to him, “I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.”
Whenever thanksgiving rises up to God, He is stirred into action to perform a miracle. Be a thanksgiver because thanksgiving releases enormous power of God to do wonders in your life.
Gratitude is a spiritual force that empowers you to scale to higher heights. When you are a grateful, thankful Christian, powerful supernatural forces from heaven are unleashed that cause things to work for you the way they should.
Every time you give genuine thanksgiving fresh oil for fresh impact comes on you. You never run dry with constant thanksgiving (Psalms 89:20-24). When you thank God, you glorifieth His Name, Psalm 50:23.
Thanksgiving has the power to bring encouragement to the testifier and helps to build more confidence in God (Lamentations 3:22-23). David was encouraged, when he was testifying to Saul about how he fought the lion and the bear. He said Goliath would not be a problem.
Thanksgiving brings edification to the hearers. It builds up the faith of others. Romans 10:7 says, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. God is not a respecter of persons. What God did for someone, He can do for others.
Thanksgiving qualifies you for another act of favour from God. Testimony commits God to do more (Proverbs 3:9-10). It propels the testifier to a great height (Psalms 18:1-3). Strength and courage is released, when you thank God.
Thanksgiving brings incredible multiplication. It is one thing to have addition; it is a greater thing to have multiplication (John 6:5-13). The five loaves of bread and two fishes multiplied in the hands of Jesus after He gave thanks to God. Five thousand people were fed and there were about 12, 000 baskets left over (John 6:11&13). Nothing is little in the hands of a thanksgiver, because God will cause an increase.
Thanksgiving turns healing to wholeness. In Luke 17:11-19, 10 lepers cried out to Jesus asking for mercy and He healed them, but only one out of them returned to thank Him. Jesus said to him in v.19, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Wholeness is complete health. As you praise and thank God, may you experience His wholeness in Jesus name.
Thanksgiving brings incredible restoration. In John 11:41, Jesus gave thanks and Lazarus rose from the dead. As you give thanks, every opportunity that was dead in your life will be restored in Jesus name.
Thanksgiving brings total deliverance from all your troubles. Psalms 50:14-15, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
Thanksgiving provokes the blessings of God upon your life. In 2 Chronicles 1:6-15, Solomon offered unto God a thousand burnt offering and went to bed. He got divine visitation; he got a blank cheque from God; he got divine overflow – more than he asked for and he got divine overwhelming prosperity – silver became like stones. Look at verse 11 God told Solomon, you did not ask for riches, wealth, honour and long life. God added all these blessings as extra to Solomon.
Thanksgiving brings down the glory of God. In 2 Chronicles 5:13-14, when high praises and thanksgiving was rendered to God, His glory filled His house and the priests could not stand. Sickness, disease, sorrow and demons cannot stand, as you give God thanks in Jesus Name.
Thanksgiving precedes a new era, a new beginning. If you want a new era of miracles, signs and wonders, then begin with thanksgiving (Luke 22:19-20).
Today’s Nugget: Thanksgiving precedes a new era.
Prayer:
Father, I pray as I give you thanks continually, may wonders never cease to happen in my life in Jesus Name, Amen.