Gratefulness For God’s Blessings Amidst The Storm
And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat. Acts 27:35-36
Do you find yourself complaining more often? Are you feeling bombarded by negative thoughts and emotions? Difficult situations can often blind you to the good things God is still doing. It is the enemy’s goal to make you focus on what is difficult and to surround you with a heavy and depressed atmosphere. Dwelling more deeply on your current situation won’t help you. In fact, it will only worsen the situation as the negativity consumes your body, soul and spirit. So how do you deal with such storms in life? How do you shift the atmosphere from darkness into light? At times like this, it is important to seek the will of God through the Word.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” It is God’s will for us to be thankful in everything, despite our specific situations in life. You may be wondering how being thankful helps in extremely difficult situations. We can learn from the Apostle Paul, who shifted the atmosphere because of his gratefulness, despite their situation. In Acts 27:13-28, the Apostle Paul and a crew of sailors encountered a terrible storm when they were headed for Rome. None of the crew expected the weather to change suddenly, and they couldn’t turn their ship back due to the strong wind. It had been many days since the bad weather and all of the crew and the prisoners on the ship lost hope, to the point that no one had been eating for two weeks (see Acts 27:20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up., (Acts 27:33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.).
Since the Apostle Paul was led by God’s Spirit, he was able to encourage the men and assured them that none of them would drown, for God had told Him. “And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat” (Acts 27:35-36).
The Apostle Paul knew that their ship would soon sink into the sea, yet he was able to thank God for the food, which changed the atmosphere. The men were encouraged and they also began to eat. This is how powerful gratitude can be. No matter what the situation is, when you begin to thank God instead of complaining or speaking negative words, you are changing the course of the situation from defeat into another victory in Christ.
As you enact the will of God amidst the storm of your life, allow the Holy Spirit to speak into your mind and heart about the things for which you needed to thank God. As you become more grateful in every circumstance, you will also become a blessing to those around you. All the glory to God.
