Thanksgiving is coming! Are you thankful for the many blessings in your life?
Thanksgiving Day is the excellent time to remind each another of the many reasons there are so much to be grateful.
The word “thanksgiving” can be defined as the expression of gratitude, especially to almighty God. One of the great commandments is to give thanks to God, for all he has done for us. Therefore, we are to give thanks, to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, not the fruits of our ground or cattle, but the fruit of our lips!
Thanksgiving to God is fundamental to a believer’s life for it is the only means of communicating with God which is inclusive of praise, prayer, and proclamation of God’s sacrificial death on the cross.
Scriptural Verses
1. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.- (1 Thess. 5:18).
2. “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” – (Eph. 5:20).
3. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” – (Psa. 100:4).
4. “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” – (Heb. 13:15).
5. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. :– (Phil. 4:6).
6. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. – (Col. 4:2).
7. 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 Cor. 4:15).
8. “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” – (1 Chro. 16:34).
9. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” – (Heb. 12:28-29).
10. “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” – (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
Giving Thanks with an Attitude of Gratitude
Give thanks to the Lord, not only because he does good, but because he is good (all the streams must be traced up to the fountain), not only because he is merciful to us, but because his mercy endures forever, and will be drawn out to those that shall come after us.
The deeper meaning of Thanksgiving is not so much thanking God for the bounty of our lives. Rather it is learning to live our lives with grateful hearts no matter what our circumstances.
To have a grateful heart is to be open to all that life offers, the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the happy and the sad.