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Would you like to have some power? I can tell you how to have more power in your life, because there is power in being thankful! And all of us can learn to be thankful. In writing to the new believers in Colosse, Paul said:
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7).
Thankfulness is powerful because it transforms our thinking, it keeps us from complaining, and it makes us joyful. Thankfulness unleashes God’s power in our lives; it is the foundation of joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. Without joy we are weak. What wipes out our joy? Complaining, feeling sorry for ourselves, focusing on the negative aspects of our lives. But thankfulness replaces all these negatives and restores our joy, which makes us strong and powerful.
Paul said we should overflow with thankfulness. And to the Ephesians he wrote:
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
When you and I are thankful for everything, we affirm the sovereignty of God in our lives. When you can be thankful for everything—the good and the bad—it means that you believe God is in control, even when bad things happen to you. That kind of thankfulness—giving thanks for everything—is so powerful. It means that the enemy of your soul cannot defeat you, no matter what happens, because you are going to give a sacrifice of thanksgiving even in the tough places.
In addition, when you are thankful, you affirm that you know and believe that God cares for you. Did you know that one of the greatest challenges to your faith is to believe that God doesn’t care? Satan wants you to believe that God doesn’t really care about you because then you will lose your joy and be defeated. Being thankful affirms that you believe God cares for you, which he does.