Monday, December 17, 2007

Thank God for Everything?

Ephesians 5:20: giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (KJV)

As a Christian, am I supposed to thank God for everything that comes my way? There is a lot of discussion about this verse in churches today. However, we need to be scripturally discriminating about this and analyze what we are giving thanks for.

Are you supposed to give God thanks for your little child getting hit by a car and dying? When your husband dies of cancer and leaves you with five children to raise. Do you thank God? There are many churches that preach that we are to give thanks in these and other evil situations. They say, "Well, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." No!

I can't thank God when someone dies and goes to hell. I can't thank God when someone is crippled with some paralysis and he can't even feed himself. Is this what the scripture is asking me to do? Am I to thank God for everything that happens - good or bad?

The Spirit of God gave me a revelation regarding this scripture which I want to share with you today. Look at the twentieth verse again, "giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice that the things we are to give thanks for are those that are "unto God."

In Matthew 22:16-21 we read, And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? "Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (NKJV)

We are supposed to give thanks to God always for the things that He has done, not for what the devil has done. Do you understand? We give God thanks, credit, praise and glory for what He has done! You don't thank God for what the devil has done. You don't thank God that somebody died and went to hell. You don't thank God that somebody is sick and helpless or because somebody was killed or murdered. Don't blame God for what the devil does.

I know that the idea of a devil is far fetched for some intellectuals. However, whether you believe it or not, the devil still exists. The Word of God says it and I believe God's Word. Some of you are in denial and that is why the devil has been whipping your heads. He has tricked you into believing that he doesn't exist and you have been calling the things that the devil has been doing in your life, "the works of God."

Even as a society we have been blaming God for all manner of destruction. The insurance companies write into their insurance contracts, "Acts of God." There are certain things they won't insure because they say that the flood, hurricane, tornado and earthquakes are "Acts of God."

First John 3:8 says: He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

If Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, then the devil must have some works. Is this right? Jesus described the devil and his works in John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

The devil has some works and when the devil does his works you are not to give God thanks for what the devil has done. You give thanks unto God for what He has done. Render unto God the things that are God's and render unto Satan the things that he has done. Stop blaming God for the things that the devil is doing!

This devotional was excerpted from Dr. Price's book, "Thank God For Everything?"

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