“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
The best attitude that you can have toward life is that of gratitude. But, what drives us to be thankful?
Is it the things that we have? Are we thankful for what we’re simply lucky to have? What about if we did’t have that, would we have a reason to be thankful then?
Even when things may not seem to be working in our favor; I am sure that if we look around we can find some thing that you can be thankful for. For a christian, there is one thing that we can always be thankful for, no matter what, and that is the hope that we can have in the kingdom of God.
The reason to be thankful at all times: We rely on an unshakable kingdom.
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful,”
The manifestation of the kingdom of God is not limited to what we have or what happens in our present life. Therefore, whatever happens in this life, is not over—we can have hope in being certain of this. When we understand that the kingdom of God is unshakable (it can’t be moved, it will fulfill it’s purpose and power) we can be certain that it will have its manifestation in its own time. We do not become discourage from what we see in the present time. For this reason, we can develop a sense of security, identity and purpose, regardless of our situations and face them with hope and joy knowing where we stand in that kingdom that we are recieving. We know the God, we know the promises. This is more than enough of a reason to be thankful.
A life of worship: Our demonstration of gratitude
“and so worship God acceptably…”
When you are thankful, you show it. Your life is an expression of the things that matter to you as well as the things you take for granted. The proof in our lives that we regard God with gratitude is a life of worship. We worship God not for the things that we have in Him but for who He is, for the grace of being part of his Kingdom and for the hope of that we can have in it. How will I not be driven to worship God after knowing all this? A life of worship in service is the maximum expression of gratitude in a christian.
God has set the standard of how we should worship Him
…with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
We worship God not just with praise, words or songs. Most importantly, God desires that we worship Him with our lives. We give our lives to God and worship him through everything; even our thoughts, our behavior and our lifestyle.
When the bible says that God is a consuming fire it means that He takes this seriously with passion. He is a God that demands to be worshiped with exclusivity and allegiance. Our expression of gratitude is living a life that pays honor according with his kingdom.
This thanksgiving has not been the exception to reflect of everything that I am thankful for. I could conclude that above everything, I am mostly thankful for knowing God and being able to rely upon His unshakable kingdom.
Today you can look around; nothing will be perfect. You may have a lot of things that you are thankful for and some things you may wish they were different. Instead of looking around, look up and there you will find everything for what you will always be thankful for and nothing that should be different.
