Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart
Dear Friends,
We are quickly approaching the most wonderful season of the year – Thanksgiving and Christmas! It is a time for rejoicing and thanking our Heavenly Father for His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is also a fitting time to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to all the special people in our lives who care for us and bless us!
The world is catching on to what the Bible has been teaching for thousands of years:
Dr. Nick Stinnett of the University of Nebraska conducted a group of studies called the "Family
Strengths Research Project." Stinnett and his researchers identified several qualities which produce
strong families. One of the most important qualities to be found in strong families is the quality of
appreciation. Dr. Stinnett concluded that strong families are strong because family members express
to each other their appreciation for what other members “do,” and for who they “are.”
As born-again Christians, our gratitude to God results in actions:
It is thanking God for His gift of life by living it faithfully, fruitfully, and victoriously.
It is thanking God for our talents, gifts, and abilities by investing them in the lives of others.
It is thanking God for His joy by bringing the joy of the Lord to others.
It is thanking God for His mercy, grace, and kindness by offering them to others.
A thankful and faithful heart is powerful in the life of a believer producing much fruit:
Thanksgiving turns our eyes away from ourselves to focus on God. It reminds us that we desperately need and depend upon God.
Thanksgiving shifts our thoughts away from our problems, while leading us to focus our attention on the Lord who is our true source. All good things come from His hand! Our God is a loving father who delights in giving good gifts to His children!
Thanksgiving reminds us to “forget not” all His benefits (Psalm 103:2), while acknowledging that we have much to be thankful for!
Thanksgiving will not permit a dissatisfied, complaining, or negative heart and we are called to, above all else, guard our hearts, for the heart is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23).
In Psalm 42:4, the psalmist described how he led a procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and thanksgiving! The evil one despises all faithful, prayerful, thankful and joyful Christians. Why? Because they are strong and confident in the Lord! Such believers present the greatest threat to the Kingdom of Darkness!
Have you noticed that the most joyful people are thankful and appreciative, while the least joyful are ungrateful? Our gratitude touches the very heart of God and the hearts of others as well. Never underestimate the power of thanksgiving. A smile, a kind word or a “thank you” can brighten someone’s day! People need to know that they are valued and appreciated. Moreover, by expressing gratitude to our fellow believers, we are blessing our Lord, Jesus!
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
The following is a true and touching story:
A doctor wrote a letter of thanks to a schoolteacher for having given him so much encouragement
when he attended her class 30 years before. He later received this reply: “I want you to know what
your note meant to me. I am an old lady in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own
meals, lonely, and seeming like the last leaf on the tree. You will be interested to know that I taught
school for 50 years, and yours is the first letter of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a cold,
blue morning and cheered my lonely old heart as nothing has cheered me in many years.”
Let’s reflect on “thanksgiving” in the Scriptures:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
Colossians 2:7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.
Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Psalm 69:30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Colossians 3:17 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.
Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Psalm 95:1-3 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
Daniel 6:8-11 So King Darius put the decree in writing. Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
The more thankful we are to God, the less we take for granted; the less we take for granted, the more peace, joy and blessing we will experience in this life. Let’s commit to read aloud each morning a psalm of thanksgiving and praise to God to begin our day!
May the word of God dwell in you richly!
Blessings,
Pastor Paul