Count your blessing name them one by one.
Count  your blessing see what God has done.
Count your blessings..name them one by one
Count your many blessings,
See what God has done.

This was a chorus I used to sing in Sunday School when I was little. But it never gets old. It is so important to be thankful about what you DO have instead of grumbling about what you do not have.

Philippians 4:6-7 states, “Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and THANK him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

In dark moments it is always important to remember what you’ve come through; what God has already done for you. Thank him for what he HAS done and then thank him for what he WILL do. In fact, it might be a good idea to mark several of the monumental moments on a calendar and actually celebrate that victory in your life as a constant reminder of what God has done.

The prophets of old did the same thing.

Abram (who later was called Abraham) built an altar of remembrance after the Lord appeared to him in the land of Canaan promising to give that land to him and his descendants.

Joshua built an altar of 12 stones taken from the middle of the Jordan River and then placed them in their camp. They were built as a reminder to their children of how God parted the waters for them.

Also a celebration can represent a time God showed up. For example, Passover Seder is celebrated in the Jewish faith. It is a reminder of the time the angel of death passed over the children of Israel and their people were brought out of slavery from Egypt.

There has been circumstances when I felt God had done a miracle for me. He had parted the waters, so to speak. I wasn’t clear how he was going to take care of a situation, but  somehow he did it.

Every March I am reminded how easily our house got sold. It seemed near impossible. The place needed a lot of work to go on the market. We were in the middle of moving to another state. We weren’t sure how to take care of our house while living so far away and dealing with the new chapter that was presented to us. Our only hope was to run across someone who was willing to buy the house, as is, and preferably in cash. And within a shorter time than I expected, that is exactly what happened!

When any discouragement might arise I am reminded of that moment and I am thankful.

There is POWER is thankfulness.

Think of Paul and Silas in prison in Acts 16. They weren’t in a prison that had cable TV, free education and free medical. They had been beaten and were in shackles.I presume their surroundings were pretty raunchy; maybe rat infested and filthy and of course no inside plumbing , no electricity, no amenities at all.  But when they began singing praises; rejoicing in the Lord, in the midst of their dilemma, there was an earthquake. The doors broke open and all the shackles fell off .

God loves to rock the earth for you in your praises and thankfulness. It is there that the things that hold you back, the things that bind up your life are broken off and you can rise in victory.

Not only did Paul  and Silas get out of prison but the prison guard wanted to learn about God and he and his family were saved. The guard took them to his house, fed them and cleaned their wounds. On top of that, the authorities realized the mistake in arresting Roman citizens and apologized.

Has the enemy of your soul attacked you? Are you feeling down and out, frustrated and discouraged? I am telling you that any demon of darkness that is harassing you is dealing with a citizen of heaven. Not only can being thankful and rejoicing break you out of your prison, but you can be restored.

Why would the reference in Philippians state “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice”?  Is it because it holds an important key of deliverance?

Psalm 22:3 states,”Yet you (speaking of the Lord) are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”(NLT) God seems to move at the praises of his people because that is where he dwells.

I recall being in church listening to praise music and worshiping the Lord. Yet I was feeling a bit guilty as I had just heard that Christians in other countries were being killed for their faith.

But the Lord reminded me that to stop worshipping is exactly what the enemy of darkness would want. That praise is actually a weapon, as it ushers in his glory and breaks bondage and sets people free.

Choose to be thankful.
Choose to rejoice.
Chose to be free.