Thankfulness: Your Key to Increase
We all have much to thank God for this Thanksgiving season. We may not have all that we want, but we have everything we need because we have Jesus. He is our Savior, deliverer, healer, provider, way-maker. He has been good to us, so just take a moment to give him praise for all he has done. Thank him for life, friends and family, favor, shelter, clothing, his precious blood, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit.
There is power in your praise, and thankfulness is one of the keys to supernatural increase, which we will discover in a familiar passage of Scripture in John 6. Jesus had gone up to a mountain with his disciples, and a great multitude of people gathered around him to hear him preach. No doubt, these people had traveled long and hard to listen to him.
As it was getting late, Jesus turned to Philip, one of his disciples, and said, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (verse 5). Notice that Jesus said, “we”. I love how he included himself in the situation. “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do” (verse 6). Jesus knew what he was about to do, but he wanted to test Philip to see where he was at spiritually.
Philip replied, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little” (verse 7). In other words, Philip was telling Jesus there was no way they could afford to feed such a gathering. The men alone numbered about 5,000. It was impossible, as far as his calculations concerned.
There is nothing wrong with being realistic and acknowledging facts. But after you are done analyzing everything, give it over to Jesus. Thank him for what you have, and have faith that he has it all figured out. If God has asked you to do something, and it seems impossible, do not be overwhelmed. God isn’t trying to stress you out. If he has asked you to do something, it is because he has the situation in his hands, and he will provide whatever you need to accomplish his will.
So, after Philip was done calculating their situation from a natural perspective, Andrew, another disciple, spoke. “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (verse 9). Philip was worrying instead of trusting in God, and Andrew was complaining instead of being thankful for the little they had. We are all guilty of being ungrateful every now and then, and sometimes we can hinder our miracle with our negativity and unbelief.
But watch what Jesus did. He set the example for all of us to follow when dealing with these types of situations. “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would” (verse 11).
Thankfulness is the key to your miracle. God cannot give you more if you are not thankful for what you have. You have to be faithful in the small first, then he will increase you. God is your provider. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. He said in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Quit focusing on what you don’t have. Shift your mentality and put your eyes on Jesus. He is in your midst, and he will give you a breakthrough. Just trust him. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Jesus trusted God. He did not complain about what he didn’t have. He took the loaves and said, “God, I thank you.” And when he prayed, the blessings of God multiplied what he had. And when he gave the food to his disciples for them to distribute it, the Lord performed a miracle of multiplication.
A crowd of over 20,000 people ate until they were filled, and when they were done, there were twelve baskets of leftovers. Isn’t our God amazing? Don’t limit God. He can do the impossible. You may have only five dollars and two cents in your pocket, but little is much when God is in it. He will come through for you. Just give him praise, and he will give you a miracle of supernatural increase, a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10).
God bless,
Pastors Sean and Aimee Pinder
There is power in your praise, and thankfulness is one of the keys to supernatural increase, which we will discover in a familiar passage of Scripture in John 6. Jesus had gone up to a mountain with his disciples, and a great multitude of people gathered around him to hear him preach. No doubt, these people had traveled long and hard to listen to him.
As it was getting late, Jesus turned to Philip, one of his disciples, and said, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (verse 5). Notice that Jesus said, “we”. I love how he included himself in the situation. “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do” (verse 6). Jesus knew what he was about to do, but he wanted to test Philip to see where he was at spiritually.
Philip replied, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little” (verse 7). In other words, Philip was telling Jesus there was no way they could afford to feed such a gathering. The men alone numbered about 5,000. It was impossible, as far as his calculations concerned.
There is nothing wrong with being realistic and acknowledging facts. But after you are done analyzing everything, give it over to Jesus. Thank him for what you have, and have faith that he has it all figured out. If God has asked you to do something, and it seems impossible, do not be overwhelmed. God isn’t trying to stress you out. If he has asked you to do something, it is because he has the situation in his hands, and he will provide whatever you need to accomplish his will.
So, after Philip was done calculating their situation from a natural perspective, Andrew, another disciple, spoke. “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (verse 9). Philip was worrying instead of trusting in God, and Andrew was complaining instead of being thankful for the little they had. We are all guilty of being ungrateful every now and then, and sometimes we can hinder our miracle with our negativity and unbelief.
But watch what Jesus did. He set the example for all of us to follow when dealing with these types of situations. “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would” (verse 11).
Thankfulness is the key to your miracle. God cannot give you more if you are not thankful for what you have. You have to be faithful in the small first, then he will increase you. God is your provider. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. He said in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Quit focusing on what you don’t have. Shift your mentality and put your eyes on Jesus. He is in your midst, and he will give you a breakthrough. Just trust him. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Jesus trusted God. He did not complain about what he didn’t have. He took the loaves and said, “God, I thank you.” And when he prayed, the blessings of God multiplied what he had. And when he gave the food to his disciples for them to distribute it, the Lord performed a miracle of multiplication.
A crowd of over 20,000 people ate until they were filled, and when they were done, there were twelve baskets of leftovers. Isn’t our God amazing? Don’t limit God. He can do the impossible. You may have only five dollars and two cents in your pocket, but little is much when God is in it. He will come through for you. Just give him praise, and he will give you a miracle of supernatural increase, a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive (Malachi 3:10).
God bless,
Pastors Sean and Aimee Pinder
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