Problems and Thanksgiving

When Jesus was faced with problems he started with

:

• Before feeding thousands of hungry people with five loaves and two fish, He offered a prayer of thanks (Matthew 14:13-21).
• Before calling Lazarus out of the tomb, Jesus offered thanks (John 11:38-43).

If there were no

there would be no miracles.

Thorns and Thanksgiving

Although Paul pleaded for the thorn to be removed – for healing – God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9a).

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10

In times of pain, we can hear God’s voice more

than we would hear it otherwise.

God uses the thorns for his good purposes, teaching us humility and dependence on him, transforming us into who He wants us to be.

Deficiency and Thanksgiving

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
— Proverbs 16:18

“Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”
— Proverbs 18:12

Jesus chose to be

so he could be with us.

We need to thank God for our deficiencies. We need to thank Him for

us down so we can learn and be transformed by His great power.

Vision and Thanksgiving

A grateful person is free to see the good.

“The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.”
— Numbers 14:7

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
— Daniel 6:10

“Don’t be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
— 2 Kings 6:16, 17

Jesus prayed a prayer of thanksgiving in front of the tomb of Lazarus.

Jesus said, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God” (John 11:40).

God gives the ability to see the unseen to those who have

.