Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on the many reasons we have to be thankful, remembering the the sources of all those good gifts (James 1:17), and then giving God the thanks that He is due. There are so many undeserved gifts that God has given humanity that we never even consider giving thanks to God for nor acknowledge that those blessings came from him (Romans 1:21). It is good to start with the gift of our life or existence. God in His goodness created us and gives us every breath & heart beat of our lives (Acts 17:25-28). He is the creator & sustainer of all life. In Him we live and move and have our being.
God not only created us but He also faithfully cares for us and provides us with everything we need in life. Jesus taught us we need not worry about anything in life because if God the Father cares for birds providing for each tiny little creature, than He will most certainly grant us humans who have been made in His image what we need, especially those whom God calls His children (Matthew 6:25-27, 1 John 3:1).
Of all people the child of God should be the most grateful. For not only has God given His children sustained existence, but He has granted abundant life & eternal life through Jesus Christ (John 10:10, 1 John 5:11-12). The children of God are forgiven of all their sin, which lead to death. The penalty of for their sin has been placed on Jesus and in exchange they receive eternal life as a FREE gift (Romans 6:23). A free gift like that is worthy of much thanksgiving towards God the giver. An abundance of gratitude overflows from those who have been saved by the amazing grace of God. When a person begins to grasp what has been done for their sake in the gospel and also grasps how undeserving of such blessing they really are, then thanksgiving arises from their heart. That is why Paul wrote to the Corinthians stating “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15 ESV). Notice the progression; grace extended, thanksgiving increased and glory rendered to God. These three things should mark every child of God. The gospel produces gratitude in the hearts of its recipients, causing glory to be given to God. The link between grace & glory is thanksgiving. Paul exhorted the Corinthian believers to give God glory in everything that they do, even their eating & drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31). How does one eat and drink for the glory of God? It is by receiving the gift of food with thanksgiving & recognizing God has provided it for us (Psalm 145:15). God created every good food for us to receive with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:3-4). Also, God gets glory when we enjoy what He provides us with. Paul wrote Timothy saying that God “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). God also gets glory when we share our food with others and demonstrate the same generosity that we have experienced from God (1 Tim. 6:18, 2 Cor. 9:11, Hebrews 13:16).
It is good & fitting for us to give thanks for life & provision, but our gratitude for God sending Jesus Christ to save us from our sins should be the greatest reason for thanksgiving. This is what is loudly proclaimed in Heaven: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! … Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 5:10-12 ESV).
Give thanks to God for such great salvation found only His Son Jesus Christ!
Child of God, know that God has taken care of your greatest need through giving you Jesus! So don’t worry about the little necessities of life but rather believe that “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 ESV).
Be thankful for what God has done through Christ coming and also be thankful that Jesus will return one day soon and will restore all things. He will make all things new (Revelation 21:5). He will bring forth judgement & wrath on the wicked (Revelation 19-21) and redemption & perfection to His people. He will wipe every tear from our eye and there shall be no more pain, death, mourning or crying because the former things will pass away and all things will be made new (Revelation 21:4-5). Great is The Lord and He is greatly to be thanked and praised (Psalm 96:4, 145:3).
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17 ESV)
Since I have become a Christian I have found great comfort & encouragement in the book of Psalms, just as many other saints have over the centuries. Often I have felt like the psalmists have articulated in words what I’ve felt when facing adversity. There are many prayers I’ve used that have seemed to be just right for me in my circumstance. The book of Psalms has helped teach me how to praise & worship God, by magnifying who God is and what He does, which has been fuel to my passion for worshipping God. Not only have the psalms taught me to worship God in the difficult times but they have taught me to trust God always. David was a mighty warrior who fought & won many battles in hand to hand combat but he also fought the fight of faith, trusting God when it was hard to see past his trials. This what he said kept him going “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13,NKJV). Great expressions of trust in God are saturated throughout the pages of the Psalms & I have been greatly helped in my fight of faith by the influence of the Psalms. I have also been taught a great deal about repentance & how fight sin in my own life. Psalm 51 & 32 God has used in my life to teach me how to repent when I have found myself with a guilty conscience. The book of Psalms is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament. For some reason the Holy Spirit chose use the psalms more than any other Old Testament book to communicate His message. Certainly the Holy Spirit still uses these previous passages of Scripture to strengthen faith of the saints, comfort them in their trials & lead them into sweet communion with the Father.
For The Gospel's Sake 