A major theme of God’s Word is that of thankfulness. Indeed, there is a plethora of scriptures which point out the thankfulness of people as they reflect upon the goodness of God. Thankfulness on our part points out the fact that we are pleased and that we are relieved when God has done something for us that no one else could do.
Thankfulness expresses the fact that we are receiving something that we could not accomplish ourselves and that we acknowledge that it is a free gift. This wonderful emotion is one that we should all learn how to express more often. It reveals a humbleness when we are thankful for a blessing that comes to us.
The citizens of this great country of ours have so much for which to be thankful that we could never express them all in this little treatise. Passages such as 2 Corinthians 2:14, as well as Revelation 11:17 plus many others speak of our giving thanks to God. The book of Psalms is replete with the admonition to be thankful to God. Giving Him thanks for his dealings with us is a well established theme in His Word.
America is the most blessed nation in the world in many ways but how often do we offer thanks to God for his bountiful blessings to us. Our forefathers knew where their blessings came from. The first Thanksgiving with the Indians was an expression of thankfulness for the fact that God had provided for them to survive. George Washington proclaimed that a “Day of Publick Thanksgiving” be held and that was done on Thursday, November 26th1789. Congress passed a resolution on September 28, 1789 asking the President to recommend a Day of Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday in November be the day that Thanksgiving would be celebrated each year. In 1941, Congress passed a law making the fourth Thursday in November the official date for celebrating Thanksgiving.
Most people reflect on the feast with the Indians when celebrating Thanksgiving. That is well and good because without them, the settlers probably would not have survived. But, there are so many things to be thankful for other than that day of feasting. Over the years our country has faced a myriad of things which would have ruined most any nation. We should always thank the Lord for bringing us through these tests and then ushering us into an even greater day.
But on a more personal note, I think we should stay in an attitude of thankfulness to the Lord. It would be good for us to note that the Bible says that God holds us in His hands. He knows our heartbeats and when they will end. I just performed the funeral of a man who was 101 years old. His heart had beaten for approximately 3,185,136,000 times and God knew every one of them as well as when they would cease. We should be thankful for the fact that He has granted us life and that he carries us through our lives.
I am amazed at how many people seem to live life without being thankful for most anything. Somehow we have taught our people for generations that we are the source of our blessings….that we are somebody and we have earned our own blessings. Nothing can be further from the truth. We can help ourselves and do things in a big way but it would be good to remember where the ability to do those things came from God and without His blessings, we would have nothing.
The giving of thanks requires the fact that a person be humble or else what we do is not the giving of thanks. When we give thanks for blessings we did not deserve, we are admitting that we had nothing to do with it and that requires a humble spirit which is what God wants from us. We please our Heavenly Father when we are humble: admitting that He is everything and that we are nothing without Him.
You didn’t give yourself life. You are not the one who keeps your heart beating. You are not the one who blesses you with healing and restoration of physical health. You are not the one who keeps the systems of your body operating and functioning together. Your senses were not developed by you but they were granted and continue to function with God’s blessings and we should look to Him in humbleness and thank Him for all His blessings
So, as we approach this Thanksgiving Day we should make sure that He hears us expressing thankfulness to Him for all His blessings to us. Also, this should be something that happens daily and not just once a year on a declared day of Thanksgiving. Every morning, I thank God for giving me a good night’s sleep. Then I express thanks to Him for a new day and its opportunities to serve Him. A prayer of thankfulness for good health and safety for me and my family is always a part of my morning prayer. I thank Him for saving my soul through His Son, Jesus and for that Gift to us which cannot be surpassed. I thank Him for my wife and for the children He has given to us and for their families as well. Many other things are mentioned but you get the idea I’m sure.
Thank you, Lord for all your blessings you give to your Children. You are the source of those blessings and no one can take your place in any way. The greatest blessing is Salvation through Jesus and the Promisse of eternal life with You.
Thank you, Lord God for who you are and for all your Blessings to us.
