Gratitude // Week 3 // Thankfulness Changes How We Battle

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
-

2 Chronicles 19:4-5

4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again among the people. He went from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim. He turned the people back to the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Jehoshaphat appointed judges in the land.
-

2 Chronicles 20:1

1 After that, the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites went to war against Jehoshaphat.
-

1. Gratitude Attracts Attacks
-

2 Chronicles 20:3

3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eatin

-

2. Gratitude Seeks The Holy Spirit’s Strategies

-

2 Chronicles 20:4

4 The people came together to ask the Lord for help. In fact, they came from every town in Judah to pray to him.

-

2 Chronicles 20:5-9

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven?You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

-

2 Chronicles 20:14-17

14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. 15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

-

2 Chronicles 20:18-19

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

2 Chronicles 20:20-21

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” 

-

3. Gratitude Releases Residual Results

-

2 Chronicles 20:22-23

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

-

2 Chronicles 20:29-30

29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

-

Psalm 50:14-15 NIV

14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,  fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15 and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.

-

Week 3 questions:

-

1. If you are making a choice to be consistently grateful, what are two ways  you can also prepare your mind and heart for the attacks that will inevitably come?

-

2. How do you seek the Holy Spirit? Do you have specific time that you set apart to listen to Him and hear His voice and direction? How can you foster more of that in your life?

-

3. Has there ever been a time in your life when you were impacted by someone else’s gratitude? Why would remembering times like that impact our choices to be grateful?