Reading Time 3 mins –

Are you happy right now?

Or are you feeling a little grumpy, or negative, or sorry for yourself?

We’ve all been there.

Years ago, I had one of those months. (Yes, I said months, not days.)

I was negative. I was feeling sorry for myself. The weight and pressures of life and certain situations were bearing down on me.

For some reason, during that time, I went to a conference I really didn’t feel like going to, and the speaker got up and said he was going to talk about being thankful.

Great, I thought. Just what I want to hear.

What I really wanted was for someone to join me in my pity party. But that wasn’t happening. Because God knew that wasn’t what I needed; He knew I needed someone to tell me the truth.

See, I had taken my eyes off of all of the blessings God had given me, and I had stopped remembering all of the times He had come through for me.

I had taken my focus off of His promises and put it on my problems.

So that conference message was just what I needed. The Holy Spirit dealt with me right then about my heart and how I had been ungrateful. I had to repent. God set me free that day.

Here’s the thing: Studies show that when you’re thankful, you’re happier, you have more friends, you live longer, and you have less health problems like heart attacks, strokes, colds, flus, and even pain. Being grateful also strengthens your emotions, makes you more optimistic and less self-centered, improves your sleep, increases your self-esteem and your energy, helps you bounce back after a setback, reduces feelings of envy, helps your marriage, makes you look better, and makes you more productive. Who doesn’t want all of that?

It’s no surprise that Proverbs 17:22 (NIV) says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

See that? Cheerfulness… thankfulness… gratefulness are like good medicine. But discouragement sucks the life out of you.

Are you reading this and thinking, “It’s November, Gary. I know this is another blog about how I should be thankful. But you don’t know what I’m going through. I have serious problems.”

I understand.

But here’s the thing: You have a choice.

It might not be easy, but you can make the choice to be thankful no matter the circumstances.

Stop thinking you can only be thankful and cheerful when everything seems “perfect.”

Because “perfect” is really rare, and I do mean really rare. In fact, odds are there will always be something in your life that isn’t “perfect.”
The good news is, no matter what you go through or deal with in life, you can still be thankful and cheerful, because you can always trust God despite your circumstances.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Wait. Did you see what that said?

Notice it didn’t say, “Only be anxious about the big things you can’t handle on your own.” Nope. It says, “Don’t be anxious about anything.” It also says, “By prayer, and with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” That means you should be thanking Him for all He’s already done and for what He’s about to do in your situation. You should be thanking Him before your answer shows up, because He’s faithful and good.

In Judges 20:20-21, we see the nation of Israel suffering great loss after a huge battle. They had lost 22,000 men.

22,000.

Can you even imagine? I’m sure you’ll agree that that was a really, really bad day.

Then, on the second day of battle, they lost 18,000 more men.

40,000 men lost in two days.

The Bible tells us they took a day off at that point. They needed to regroup.

Then, in verse 26, we see that the entire army presented offerings of thanksgiving to God.

They stopped everything and reminded themselves that God was for them; that He is good and faithful; that He was with them.

And the next day, they went out and won the battle.

So, what about you, friend?

Do you need to stop and offer thanks to God?

Take some time to remind yourself that God is for you; that He is good and faithful; and that He is with you. Remind yourself of all you have to be grateful to God for, and watch how your cheerfulness becomes good medicine.There are answers in the Kingdom of God—answers that work the same for anyone and everyone who will take the time to learn them and apply them.

Although there are many Kingdom principles that are part of living a successful life, if I could only share ONE principle with you, it would be the power of allegiance.

Take a few minutes and look at Genesis 39 in the Bible with me. It’s one of my favorite chapters. It’s the story of Joseph. 

Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery to the Ishmaelites. They took him into Egypt, and sold him to Potiphar, who was a captain in the Egyptian army. 

The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. – Genesis 39:1-7

 
Notice that says, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.” What does this mean? Isn’t God supposed to be with everyone?

No. See, Abraham’s faith and the covenant that followed gave God legal access to be with Abraham and his heirs only. God being with everyone isn’t the same as God loving everyone; He does love everyone. But for those without a legal standing before God, His hands are tied. He doesn’t have the legality or jurisdiction in the earth realm without a legal agreement, a covenant in place, with a man or woman on the earth.

Because God was with Joseph, helping him in life, he had success in everything he did, so much so that his unbelieving master, Potiphar, saw a huge difference in Joseph’s ability compared to the many other men he had seen.

When you prosper with God’s help, the people who are living under the earth curse system of survival notice the difference.

Potiphar was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of his entire estate.

There are many Kingdom principles revealed in this passage of Scripture, but the key of all keys is revealed here. I call it “The Power of Allegiance,” or “The Potiphar Principle.” It’s found in Genesis 39:5:

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

I want you to get a clear picture of what is happening here. The blessing of the Lord came on all of Potiphar’s stuff, his entire estate. But Potiphar didn’t know the God of Joseph and wasn’t part of the nation of Israel, so how could this happen and what does it mean?

When Potiphar put his estate under the authority of Joseph, without knowing it, his estate came under the covenant that Joseph had with God.

Joseph wasn’t special. He was a believer just like you. As a believer, you have a covenant with God, and the blessing of the Lord—the covenant of God—legally supersedes the earth-cursed system. So, just like the Lord was with Joseph, He’s with YOU.

Potiphar’s possessions—his stuff, his estate, and property—all changed kingdoms

Until it came under Joseph’s care, Potiphar’s property was still tied legally to the earth curse system. When Potiphar placed his estate under the jurisdiction of Joseph’s authority, he didn’t realize he was also placing it under the influence of the blessing of God.

The Bible goes on to say that with Joseph in charge, Potiphar did not have to concern himself or worry about anything except the food he ate. He had no worries. With no worries, Potiphar only had to focus on his assignment and purpose as a captain in the Egyptian guard.

That same worry-free focus—that same rest—is available for you.

There is a lot here to see, but what Potiphar experienced, without knowing it, was what Hebrews 4 calls the Sabbath rest, and it’s available to you as a believer.

If you study the Sabbath, you will find that God didn’t allow the Israelites to do any work on that day; no sweating or painful toil took place. The Sabbath, of course, was the seventh day of the week, and it corresponded to the seventh day of creation. You might remember that the seventh day of creation was the day God declared as a day of rest. It wasn’t because God was tired; it was because He was finished. Everything was complete.

The seventh day was the day in which we were originally designed to live.

A day with no worries.

A day with everything we needed already in place before we needed it.

But of course, we know that Adam lost that rest when he rebelled against God. By rebelling against God, Adam cut off God’s ability to provide for him. He lost the place of provision God had previously supplied. Adam was forced to provide for himself, spending all his time working just to survive.

But God didn’t leave us without hope. He gave us a picture of the rest that He would someday restore—the Sabbath day.

When Potiphar tapped into the blessing of the Lord that Joseph carried through that covenant, he tapped into God’s ability to provide through Joseph and found rest. Everything was taken care of; he had no worries.

So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. —Genesis 39:6

But how was the Sabbath day possible when, under the earth curse system, man would toil and sweat every day just to survive? The Sabbath was made possible only because God blessed the sixth day with a double portion, or more than enough. Let that phrase roll around in your mind a bit.

More than enough.

Isn’t that what every man and woman is longing for, more than enough? When God gave man a double portion on the sixth day, He was reminding man that He was their provider, and He always provided more than enough.

More than enough provides freedom from the rat race.

More than enough takes you from being enslaved to having options.

More than enough frees you to find and prosper in your purpose and passion.

This is what Potiphar enjoyed. No worries. Every need he had was taken care of. The only thing he had to focus on was his purpose. I always say that, “Until you fix the money thing, you will never be able to find your purpose.” The great news is that you can fix your money thing and live in your God-designed purpose. The Sabbath rest is still available today, and it offers a place where your needs are met and you can prosper past survival.