Happy New Year! "I WILLS TO INSTILL" in the New Year // I Will Give Thanks

Kicking off a new year, join me (Tosha Williams) as we focus on adopting the powerful "I will" mindset. In this new conversation series, we're going to look at multiple "I WILLS" from Isaiah chapter 12, starting with "I Will Give Thanks." Giving thanks can deepen our understanding of what God is doing in and around us. Let's start this year with gratitude then seek to instill that mindset into those entrusted to us! Listen in on this podcast episode, then consider the following devotion driven discipleship conversation from Isaiah 12:1 as you "Seek Him Speak Him":

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I WILLS TO INSTILL:  I Will Give Thanks

“On that day you will say:  ‘I will give thanks to you, Lord, although you were angry with me. Your anger has turned away, and you have comforted me.’” Isaiah 12:1 CSB

SEEK HIM: Devotion is Meeting with God in Our Own Lives! We live in a world of what we can’t do, could do, might do, ought to do, or should do. However, as we begin a new year, let’s talk about what we will do. This is about our deliberate desire to initiate action in our lives. Let’s seek God about this, starting with the mindset, “I Will Give Thanks.”  

WHAT:  What is God saying through this Scripture?  Isaiah 12:1 is a prophecy about how God’s people will respond when Messiah begins to reign. Their first reaction will be to thank and praise God. ~ What is something you are determined to do this new year? Is Jesus in ruling in your life right now; why or why not? 

WHY:  Why does this Scripture matter? Gratitude affects our perspective about everything, including how we see God. Sometimes God gets angry over things that should make us angry, too - things like dishonesty (Proverbs 11:1), injustice (Proverbs 17:15), and wickedness (Romans 1:18). We can focus on what we don’t like about Him, or we can seek to understand Him and His ways. ~ Is there something about God that you don’t like or understand? Is He doing anything in your life right now for which you can be thankful? Has He comforted you in any way?  

HOW: How does God want us to respond to this truth? Scripture says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV). God’s will is for us to focus our will on Him with thankfulness and gratitude. ~ What if this month we start each day intentionally thanking God for something? What can you thank God for right now? 

SPEAK HIM: Discipleship is Making God Known to Others! A thankful heart is one that looks to see the blessings rather than the burdens, the miracles instead of the mess, God’s Presence instead of the problems. What we “will to instill” in our own lives is what we can then instill into those entrusted to us. If you determine “I WILL Give Thanks” this new year, then let your grateful heart impact someone else today.

© 2024 Tosha Lamdin Williams 

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

Chapters

• 0:00 Choosing Gratitude in the New Year
• 13:04 Spreading the Word Podcast Promotion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

New Year's resolutions. We're full of them, right? We have so many goals of how we intend to live this year better than we ended last year. Right, I'm going to eat healthier, I'm going to work out more often, I'm going to spend less time on my phone, etc. Etc. Etc.

Speaker 1: 0:22

I have my personal list of goals, and I'm sure that you do too, but in my life I've found that when I consider something and think I might do that, I usually don't. Or when I consider something and say, well, I could do that again, I usually don't. When I give thought to how I ought to do something, very seldom have I found that that ought leads to accomplished. At least in my own life, I find that most of the time, the only time I actually do something challenging is when I determine I will, and then I live that decision moment by moment and day by day. Thing is, it's not just about resolutions, it's not just about goals. It's about decisions, decisions that guide my day-to-day choices about how I will live. So, as we start a new year, this is where I'm beginning in my personal life and this is where I want us to start with Family. Disciple Me In this new collection of conversations I'm calling I Wills to Instill.

Speaker 1: 1:47

Last fall, as I was doing my devotions, isaiah chapter 12 stood out to me as the perfect chapter from which to springboard into these upcoming conversations about I will. It's funny how many times, since I started working on this series, that I've had parents say to me I was going to talk to my kid about this, or I need to talk to my kid about that. I believe there are so many applicable conversations about this with the next generation, but these I wills. Well, they must start with us, with you, with me. So let me encourage you to personally take each of these conversations to heart for your own life this month. Listen to these podcast episodes, as you're able to then spend some time with the Lord using the accompanying conversation guide. Let God's Holy Spirit lead you into your own prayerful conversation where you talk with Him, then listen to His voice about each of these scriptures and themes. So now in this collection of conversations, let's start here with Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 1. As we start with these I wills to instill, let's start with I will give thanks.

Speaker 2: 3:16

Welcome to the Family Disciple Me podcast. If you have a real relationship with Jesus, then you're in the right place to be encouraged, challenged and blessed as you seek Him, speak Him. The mission of the Family Disciple Me ministry is to inspire devotion-driven discipleship, which is something we believe every Christ follower can do. Discipleship starts with a conversation, so let's get going with that right now starts with a conversation, so let's get going with that right now.

Speaker 1: 3:52

I've never forgotten a moment from years and years ago when I gathered together the female staff and the wives of Vanguard Church Leadership for a New Year's celebration. We enjoyed dinner together and then we sat in a giant circle talking about what God had done in our lives and our church the year before and what we were anticipating Him doing in the new year. The prior year, my husband, the pastor, had led us through a series called the Gospel of Gratitude and Godliness, and then in the new year he was starting another series called Raw to Real. Well, as we reflected on what God had done and what he was about to do, one of our staff women said something that made us laugh out loud, and what she said has always stuck with me. She said well, I don't know if I ended this past year any more grateful than I was, but I'm definitely raw, so I guess I'm starting out this year quite well. We laughed at what she said, her summary of the year before and the new year. But here we are, this many years later, and that still echoes in my heart. I don't know why I remember her quips so clearly, except that her words resonated so deeply. Reality is, it's way easier to be grouchy than grateful, and this raises the question am I any more grateful now than I was last year? I may be more raw, I may be more real, but am I more thankful?

Speaker 1: 5:30

Thing is, the truth of God's word is that he does want us to give thanks, and not just during Thanksgiving month. During November, when times are good, god wants us to give thanks always. So this is where we begin, in Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 1. Let me read it to you. On that day, you will say I will give thanks to you, lord. Now I can only imagine the way you are responding to that verse right now. I know because it's the way I'm responding to it as well.

Speaker 1: 6:19

We skim right past the gratitude and we get to the part that God was angry with us. We wonder why is he so angry? What's he so angry about? Why is he such an angry God? And we go down a trail that leads us in the opposite direction of giving thanks and that sets our trajectory, not just for the moment or for the day, but for the year.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Here's the thing, though. Personally, I think that Isaiah, chapter 12, verse 1, is the perfect place to start because it doesn't sugarcoat what's at stake. It makes the wrestling really clear. It makes the decision really tangible.

Speaker 1: 7:07

You see, gratitude affects our perspective about everything, including how we see God. We can focus on what we don't like or understand about Him. We can focus on what we don't like or understand about him, which actually is what most people do, or we can focus on who he is and what he is doing. And yes, honestly, as this verse says, sometimes God does get angry, but the truth is he gets angry over things that should make us angry too. He hates things that we should hate too, and scripture tells us about what those things are. So, instead of focusing on what we don't like about God, what we don't like about him, that leads us to ingratitude, to a lack of thankful hearts. Instead, we should seek to better understand him and His ways, and, as we will to do this, we will find more and more reasons to give thanks.

Speaker 1: 8:11

Thing is, scripture is full of admonitions for us to be thankful people, to be thankful people. 1 Thessalonians 5 tells us give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you. In Christ Jesus, are you willing to do God's will for you as you enter this new year. What does it look like for you to give thanks? How are you giving thanks? How am I giving thanks? How are we beginning this year as grateful, thankful people?

Speaker 1: 8:50

I think that all of us have a choice in this. We get to choose whether we're going to be well, let's just put it this way grumpy or grateful. We get to decide whether or not we are going to focus on the blessings or the bothers, the miracles or the mess, the presence or the pain or the pain. What you and I will to instill in our own lives is what we're then going to reflect, through our attitude and our actions, into the lives of those entrusted to us. The reality is that I get to set the thermostat of gratitude in my surroundings and relationships, and so do you. You may still be on a high from Christmas bliss, or you may have already been hit by the new year like a freight train. Either way, you get to choose whether you're going to be angry, resentful and bitter at God, or you can choose to give thanks for what he has done and is yet to do.

Speaker 1: 9:58

As I look back on the highs and lows of last year, I will give thanks for what God did and this gratitude. It fills me with so much hope and anticipation about what he is going to do in and through and around me this new year. I want that attitude to reflect into my marriage, into my family, into my friends, into my church, into my ministry. I want it to overflow and splash into their lives, flash into their lives gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation, hope and an anticipation of what is yet to come, when God is in control of our lives. I challenge you to join me in this.

Speaker 1: 10:47

I challenge you to start this year saying I will give thanks, whatever that looks like in your life. Maybe you start a gratitude journal. Maybe every morning when you wake up, the first thing you do before you check your phone is to say thank you to God for something that he has done. Maybe the way you give thanks this year is by making sure that every day in carpool, you say something that you're grateful for and then you lead all the kids in your car to give thanks as well.

Speaker 1: 11:21

I don't know what it is that God's putting on your heart. I know what he is impressing on my heart. The key for all of us is to obey that we choose to focus our attention on who he is, what he has done, what he has promised, what he has fulfilled, and then give thanks. In a world filled with we can't, we could, we might, we ought, we should, I think that we will give thanks is an amazing place to be. So let me close with these words from Philippians, chapter 1. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, and I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. So, with that, go with God, friend, be encouraged, live your purpose, seek him, speak him.

Speaker 2: 12:56

And, every step of the way, make sure you begin with. I will give thanks. God bless you Until next time, as well as word about our soon-to-be-released app. Sign up to be the first to know at familydisciplemeorg. Also, if you enjoyed this podcast, help us get the word out by leaving us a review on your favorite podcast platform. God bless you, friend. Now go seek Him. Speak Him.