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Part four from Strengthen Yourself in the Lord by Bill Johnson

More thanksgiving nuggets today!

Have you ever thought that giving thanks can be spiritual warfare? Oh, it’s not as dramatic as binding the enemy or casting out demons. But it is every bit as powerful. It helps us to keep our focus on the King and His Kingdom rather than on the schemes of the enemy.

Scripture says, “in everything give thanks.” That one used to throw me! I thought, “what, I’m supposed to give thanks for everything bad, too?”

The truth is a resounding NO. Paul says “in” everything give thanks, not “for”. When we give thanks to God in the midst of turbulence and trial, during times when the enemy fights for our souls and tries to get us to blame God for our circumstances, Johnson states, “(thanksgiving) enables you to take hold of that situation and set it apart to God and His purposes.” This negates the plans of the enemy and turns his schemes back onto him.

He’s talking about sanctification: the act of being set apart (from the world) by God for His own purposes. We are all becoming more sanctified, our minds becoming more renewed day by day.  And praise holds a big part in that process.

Our gratitude takes off like a rocket when we use our will to offer thanks to God in rough circumstances. More gratitude, more sanctification. And this is when we become involved in spiritual warfare. We become more than conquerors through the results of thanksgiving.