“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ”

— Philippians 4:6 (NASB)

You can’t be thankful and anxious and in the same breath. While we’re at it, we can’t complain and be thankful in the same breath. Being thankful is an anxiety eliminator. Being thankful is the cure for complaining.

Philippians 4:6 is talking about giving thanks before we have seen what we are praying for. It’s good to be thankful when we have been blessed; it’s better to be thankful before we see the blessing.

Anxiety is essentially saying, “God, I’m not sure that you’ve got this situation, and I’m pretty sure I can’t handle it either!”- But thankfulness works the other way. Thanking God in advance is saying, “I believe you’ve already got this situation worked out.”

Have you ever noticed that Jesus gave thanks before the miracle? Jesus gave thanks before he fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Jesus gave thanks before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was thanking the Father in faith. Jesus was ‘thanking forward’.

‘Thanking forward’ is the most potent form of thanksgiving. Thanking forward is giving thanks, in faith, in advance.

In Luke 6:45, Jesus said that the good man, out of the good treasure of his heart would speak forth (and thereby produce) good things.’

Thankfulness can shape our destiny. Gratitude will ‘bring forth’ good things!