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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “See God at work and give thanks” The theme means that we should appreciate the fact that God is always active in our lives and be thankful to Him. We shall reflect on the fact that seeing God at work and giving thanks is both an acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness and our faith in Him at all times.

Beloved in the Lord, to see God at work and give thanks means we have faith in God and acknowledge the fact that God is faithful to us irrespective of our conditions or situations in life. To demonstrate our faith in Him and to show our gratitude to Him for His faithfulness, Paul admonished us to “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:19-20) It is important to note that God is faithful to us whether in good or bad times therefore we have faith in Him and always express our thanksgiving or gratitude to Him even in times of agony and challenges. In Job’s time of loss and grief, he proved his faith in God and expressed his gratitude to Him saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21). As believers, we are greatly reminded to demonstrate our faith in God and express our gratitude or thanksgiving to Him at all times including times bereavement, joblessness, divorce, sickness, failure and disappointments.

Jesus has taught us that faith and thanksgiving precede miracles. In other words, God listens to our prayers when we have faith in Him, and acknowledges His sovereignty and faithfulness to us through a prayer of thanksgiving.  Jesus taught us to give thanks even in times of scarcity, discomfort and agony to acknowledge God’s faithfulness in always meeting us at the point of our needs. In Matthew’s Gospel, after teaching the crowd and realizing that they were hungry, “He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterwards, the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Matthew 15:35-37). We also see a similar demonstration of thanksgiving by Jesus followed by the miracle of abundance in Mark 8:6, John 6:11, 23. Again, before Jesus brought back Lazarus to life, Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:41-44) Dear friend, it is time to change our orientation to prayer, eschewing faithless lamentations and beginning to put our faith into practice by always acknowledging God’s faithfulness and sovereignty through prayerful thanksgiving. We are greatly encouraged by the writer of Hebrews, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

In summary, we have discovered that seeing God at work and giving thanks is both an acknowledgement of God’s faithfulness and sovereignty, as well as our faith in Him at all times. Shalom.

PRAYER

Dear God, may you always accept our prayer of thanksgiving as a demonstration of our faith in faithfulness and sovereignty over our lives. Amen. over our lives. Amen.