Reasons to Give Thanks

Psalm 92:1 tells us, “It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.” Yet, our ability to be truly grateful to God, whether on the fourth Thursday of November, or any other day, depends on how we view various aspects of our lives. There are two perspectives that we should strive to cultivate if we want to consistently express gratitude to God.

First, we need to recognize that the Lord is the source of all that is good in our lives. A Bible verse that has been good for me to ponder is 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” I admit that I read that verse many times and missed the profound truth it communicates. The answer to the first question is that there is nothing good we have that we didn’t receive from the Lord. The salvation we have through Jesus is a gift of grace. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink are all ultimately gifts from Him. Yes, God often uses intermediaries to provide these. Farmers, food companies, and grocery stores have a part in putting food on our tables, but it is the Lord who enables each of them to accomplish what they do. Likewise, all our intelligence, strength, and abilities are gifts from the Lord. Every good thing we have comes from the Lord. Thus, we can either pretend we deserve credit and boast about our abilities and accomplishments, or we can give thanks to the Lord. The latter is clearly the best choice and is a natural response when we recognize that the Lord is the source of all that is good in our lives.

Second, we need to recognize that the Lord uses hard and painful things in our lives to accomplish good things. A Sunday School teacher was asking her junior high class to give one sentence prayers of thanks for something good which had happened during the previous week. Most gave typical responses: “Thanks that we are here together,” “Thanks for a fun hunting trip,” “Thanks that I have a nice house to live in,” and so on. Then one boy said, “Thank you that I was sick on Friday, so I didn’t have to go to school.”

All of us have things happen in our lives that leave us discouraged or disappointed. Yet, in many of these situations, if we think hard enough, we will be able to identify ways our lives have actually been better because things didn’t turn out exactly the way we would have liked. For example, health issues and financial difficulties often have a way of drawing us closer to the Lord and to the people around us. When we must cancel an activity to which we were really looking forward, it provides an opportunity for us to learn a most important lesson: God, not us, knows and determines the future, and thus, He is the one whom we need to trust.

Friends, this Thanksgiving season make sure you remember that the Lord is responsible for all the good blessings you enjoy, including your eternal salvation. Also remember to thank the Lord for hidden blessings, the situations and events you would never have chosen that have made you a more godly person. These will provide plenty of reasons for you to give thanks to the Lord.