We can start the answer to today's focus-question by establishing that the mirror opposite of THANKSGIVING is COMPLAINING. God doesn't like COMPLAINING which was clearly demonstrated by how He handled the Israelites after they left Egypt. They were never grateful for all the things He'd done for them and so because of their constant murmuring and complaining they had to wander around for 40 years in the wilderness to complete what could've been an 11-day trip. During all that time almost all the Israelites who had departed Egypt LOST the opportunity to go into the Promised Land. Yes, their basic needs were taken care of while they were in the wilderness but because of ingratitude they LOST their eligibility for the prosperity and abundance God wanted to give them.

The important point in the context of today's message is that the Bible says that during their wanderings, the hearts of the Israelites became HARDENED (Psalm 95:8-11 and Hebrews 3:13-15). Thus there's a relationship between complaining and hardness of heart that needs to be understood. What does it mean to have a HARDENED heart? In Mark 6:51-52 the disciples were astonished when Jesus came to them walking on the water; but the Bible says they were astonished because they had HARDNESS of heart. Why? They manifested HARDNESS of heart because they hadn't gained in knowledge from the first miracle of the loaves that had just happened earlier that very day. Even though they had all seen that previous miracle, it surprised them when a few hours later Jesus performed a new miracle.

A little later in Mark 8:17-18 shortly after the second miracle of the loaves Jesus asked the disciples if they had HARDENED HEARTS because once again they couldn't understand the fullness of His miracles. This time He rebuked them and, quoting Jeremiah 5:21 and Isaiah 6:9, He showed the disciples that a HARDENED HEART has certain characteristics that explained their failure to understand His miracles:

• An inability to perceive spiritual things (also called spiritual dullness)
• An inability to understand spiritual truth
• An inability to see and hear God
• An inability to remember spiritual truth

The wandering Israelites demonstrated all of these characteristics to the extreme. God had performed miracle after miracle including bringing them THROUGH the Red Sea to get them out of Egypt. But those works made no impression. The Israelites were totally dull to the things of God and instead of THANKING Him for their miraculous deliverance from bondage and then standing in faith for the things He had promised, they COMPLAINED about their inconveniences.

According to the Bible hardness of heart comes from unbelief (Hebrews 3:12-19). But it's impossible to be grateful to God for EVERYTHING and simultaneously develop hardness of heart. If you're continuously thanking God there'll be no time left over for unbelief and complaining. So as soon as you notice that you're complaining about something, you're in undesirable territory and you need to immediately start THANKING God. If the Israelites had been grateful for what the Lord had done in bringing them out of Egypt, their SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING in the face of inconvenience would have softened their hearts, brought them out of the wilderness and propelled them into the prosperity and abundance waiting in the Promised Land.

Therefore, part of the answer to today's focus question is this:

God wants us to give Him thanks in everything in order to protect us from hardening our hearts so we'll be eligible to live in the inherited promises of the New Testament.

One of the reasons God doesn't like complaining is that it's rooted in a lack of TRUST; those who complain to Him don't trust Him to do the right and good things in their lives. A lack of trust is a lack of faith and in the New Testament it's impossible to please God without FAITH (Hebrews 11:6). Consider for a moment the following summary of criteria that define STRONG biblical FAITH as we've discussed on previous occasions in this Newsletter:

• Faith is the total conviction that the Word of God is absolute Truth.
• Faith is the act of trusting in God instead of what we see in the natural.
• Faith is the confidence that God will bring to pass by His Word what we're hoping for.
• Faith involves taking ownership over the things we're hoping for before we physically receive them.
• Faith requires that we take action on what we believe before it manifests in the natural.
• Faith is the opposite of doubt and unbelief.
• Faith is a force that is strong enough to overcome the world.

Friend, can you see the necessity of Thanksgiving working through these FAITH criteria? Indeed, it would be IMPOSSIBLE to be ungrateful to God for anything and simultaneously be manifesting the depth of FAITH that's described here. You can't murmur and complain and be in FAITH at the same time. The truth is God is particularly glorified when we confirm our FAITH by speaking out our Thanksgiving to Him. It glorifies Him because it shows we've chosen to believe the Word instead of the lies of the enemy and the World. Also, it shows that our FAITH doesn't require the confirmation of our natural physical senses in order for us to trust Him for His promises. Rather, our Thanksgiving demonstrates our willingness to trust God even in the midst of contradicting circumstances and trials and HARD TIMES that we're experiencing in the natural.

The Bible teaches that our Thanksgiving will bring us the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7 and Colossians 3:15-17). If you want to experience victory in the face of HARD TIMES, it starts with having PEACE which is a special gift from Jesus (John 14:27) that's available to any Believer that will receive it by FAITH.

Therefore, the second part of the answer to today's focus question is the following:

God wants us to give Him thanks in everything so we can be people of strong and forceful faith who are fully eligible for the peace and victory of Christ.

• 1 Corinthians 15:57 = Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Christ.
• 2 Corinthians 2:14 = Thanks be to God who ALWAYS leads us to triumph in Christ

As noted at the beginning of today's Newsletter, God wants us to give Him thanks in everything and it's for our own good that we do it. Continuous THANKSGIVING will keep your heart soft so you'll be able to hear the Holy Spirit and be Spirit-led. And when you offer God a sacrifice of THANKSGIVING and call upon Him in a day of trouble, see for yourself: He's promised to deliver you (Psalm 50:14-15). If you want to be delivered from the HARD TIMES, and who doesn't, you can start by thanking God for all the good things He's done in your life. And then thank Him NOW for the VICTORY you'll see manifested in the near future!

Thanks for reading PLN today and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on Friday, December 11. In the meantime, may God overwhelm you with the fullness of His love and spiritual blessing! Enjoy your victory over the HARD TIMES!

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can do so today just by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I receive eternal life..

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

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