Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This is a week of transition from reflection to resolution. With the Holy Spirit’s help our transition will lead to renewal.

Today’s familiar scripture, I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NKJV), instructs us to…
[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Consider…
Sequence is important in understanding scripture.

For example Ephesians 1:9-10 (NLT) says…
[9] God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. [10] And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

Notice God does things at the right time.

When I was looking for examples of God’s sequencing, I also found Psalms 104:19 (NLT) which recognizes…You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.

That made me reflect on the beginning, specifically Genesis 1:3-5, 13-18 (NLT)…
[3] Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [4] And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
[13] And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day. [14] Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. [15] Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. [16] God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. [17] God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, [18] to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Notice…

• First God made light
• Then He made day and night
• Then He made the Sun, Moon and Stars appear
• Then He made calendars with seasons, days and years.

The next time you update or consult your daily planner, don’t forget to check in with the author of the days you’re planning. After all, Proverbs 16:9 (NLT) advises…We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

Therefore we should heed the wisdom shared six verses earlier in Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)…Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

Speaking of man and God’s plans in sequencing, my reflection made me revisit Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17 (NLT)…
[8] Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. [9] The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
[15] The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. [16] But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— [17] except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

God’s sequencing here is so rich…

• He planted a garden
• He placed the man
• He placed the choice of eternal life and deadly self-awareness
• He placed a warning label on the freedom He gave to choose life or death

God still plants and places us with choices of life in Him, or death from sin.

By now you may be wondering what all of this has to do with today’s title and verse? Well, the title and scripture are God’s sequence of responses that He wants us to have when reflecting on where He planted, and sequentially placed us in 2025.

Everything that we experienced was part of God’s Divine order, regardless of whether we were blessed with our eternal life choices or felt the consequences of prohibitively eating from the knowledge of good and evil tree.

The reason the Holy Spirit took me down this winding reflection is becauseRomans 8:28 (NLT) declares…And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Everything, which includes good and bad, is working together for our good because we live Him and He’s called us to become His children like Jesus!

Let me remind you, Romans 8:16-17 (NLT) explains…
[16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. [17] And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

It’s that suffering part that is the biggest struggle for most of us. Yet 1 Peter 5:10 (NLT) encourages us…In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

You see, it’s easy to be grateful and celebrate God for the blessings in 2025, but the Holy Spirit is emphasizing we must be grateful for the trials and tribulations too.

That’s why the God inspired Paul to write in Romans 5:2-5 (NLT)…
[2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. [3] We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. [4] And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [5] And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

There’s the full circle connection at the beginning of verse 3, “we can rejoice, too”.

That makes me hear Pastor Marvin Sapp testifying…

I thank You for it all
The good, bad, the ugly, great and small
The times of victory, and when I fall
I’m so grateful that I’m still standing tall
I thank You for my tears
The pain helped me overcome my fears
You’ve been good to me down throughout the years
It’s a miracle that I’m still standing here

All that I am is because of all that You brought me through
And everything I survived, it’s all because of You

Speaking of surviving, the Holy Spirit also reminded me that those of us who have been blessed must make sure we’re intentional about being grateful.

The scripture I was given to illustrate this is Luke 17:12-19 (NLT), which says…
[12] As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, [13] crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” [14] He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. [15] One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” [16] He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. [17] Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? [18] Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” [19] And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

God has blessed all of us in 2025, but not everyone will come back and tell Him thank you. Be one of one, not the other nine.

A look behind the curtain let’s me tell you, that the first thing the Holy Spirit wanted me to focus on in reflecting on another year of God’s faithfulness to us is…

BE GRATEFUL!!!

That makes me hear Hezekiah Walker singing…

I am grateful for the things that you have done
Yes, I’m grateful for the victories we’ve won
I could go on and on and on about your works
Because I’m grateful, grateful, so grateful just to praise you Lord
Flowing from my heart are the issues of my heart, it’s gratefulness
Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful
Grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful
Grateful, grateful, grateful, gratefulness is flowing from my heart

Before we reflect, or God forbid regret, the Holy Spirit is emphasizing we must respect God with our gratefulness!

Perhaps our hesitation with gratitude is due to the confusion of expecting God to perform for our pleasure rather than realizing He’s transforming us into His treasure.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) frames it this way…For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

We should BE GRATEFUL, because 2025 was a continuation of becoming more like Christ, as highlighted in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)…So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

Accordingly as we begin, or continue, our reflection, let’s begin as we always should, with Rejoicing in God for…

• Who He is
• His faithfulness
• His unfailing love
• His tender mercy
• His sufficient grace

…for yet another year

Today’s song is…
Be Grateful

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)