As you are reading this, the Thanksgiving holiday we just observed is now just warm memories and maybe with some leftovers in the refrigerator. Was there one particular aspect that you were especially grateful for this year? As far back as you can remember, what are your most memorable aspects of past Thanksgiving celebrations? What makes these memories so meaningful to you?
Even though we celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, as Christians who have a constant personal and intimate relationship with God, we know that being thankful does not mean that we are grateful just once a year. We understand that, with gratitude and understanding we recognize who God is in our lives and what He has done daily, this is our continual act of our worship. The virtue of being grateful or giving thanks is something that we should express every opportunity we have. However, as we all know and have personally experienced, for some Christians and maybe including ourselves, it can be challenging and or easy to forget at times to express gratitude to God or even to someone else. Why is that?
A Biblical understanding of being thankful
When we study the New Testament about the subject of thankfulness or the variations of the thankfulness such as, to thank, to give thanks, to be thankful, to give thanksgiving, and to be grateful, we find that there are many verses in the Bible that describe how being thankful is expressed in many different ways and for many different reasons. Hayford’s Bible Handbook tells us that, “THANKSGIVING—the aspect of praise that gives thanks to God for what He does for us. Ideally, thanksgiving should spring from a grateful heart; but it is required of all believers, regardless of circumstance.”
Gratitude and Children
Whether a child is raised in a Christian home or not, almost all children need to be taught to say thank you. Teaching a child when to say thank you is not just done verbally but it is also taught by the example, which is primarily seen in the parents. In addition, expressing our gratitude by saying the two words “thank you” needs to come from and is an expression of a sincere heart and not just a learned verbal expression. Children also need to learn and see in their parents the many different ways and reasons being thankful can be expressed.
Titus 2:6-7, “Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good.”
Being thankful is part of a every Christian’s character
The character of a Christian which is who Christ Jesus is in us is expressed and is experienced by others by what we say and do.
Matthew 12:34b-35a, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him…”
“Expressing gratitude for all that God has done for us through Christ should be one of the constant character traits of all Christians. This kind of gracious attitude will cause the believer to stand out in his or her setting and be a good example for Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
As Christians being thankful, first is birthed in our hearts then it is expressed with words, gestures and or our actions. One of the most wonderful ways that a Christian’s gratitude is clearly expressed is in song and with music.
Psalms 95:2, “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”
Ephesians 5:19, “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Colossians 3:16 NLT, “Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Being thankful is one of the many evidences of a redeemed or converted Christian from the old way of life. The apostle Paul gives us a good comparison of how many of us used to be before Christ came into our lives and how being thankful replicases and contrasts those traits.
Ephesians 5:3-4, “3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
Even though a person might know something about God, because of their unredeemed character, heart and mind they will not easily give thanks to God or be grateful to God.
Romans 1:21, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Gratitude and our Prayer
Colossians 4:2, Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Being devoted to prayer means we do it intentionally with regularity and we know the reason why we pray. But are we intentional of how we pray? Paul gives us two points of how we are to pray “being watchful and thankful.”
As believers in Christ, we should know how to pray when confronting many different types of adversity. This will be evident in our life by the characteristics that Paul states in Philippians 4:6-7. We should not be anxious or worried but confidently know how to confront adverse and difficult situations by always going to God in prayer with supplication and thanksgiving. All of which has a supernatural result in the believer’s life of the presence and protection of the peace of God in their hearts and minds.
Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
To a person who does not have a personal relationship with Christ, it might be perplexing or even seem absurd when confronting adverse and difficult situations to be thankful. However, a believer in Christ knows that they are not being thankful because the adversity they are experiencing but it is for who God is and how they are experiencing Him in the middle of the adverse situation. God is in the life of the believer during times of difficulty and adversity which is evident by His peace they are experiencing as stated in verse seven, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Another good example of the cause and expression of thankfulness in a believer’s life regardless of the adversities they are facing is in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. This is because of the reality of who God is in a believer’s life which is why Paul says to his Christian readers they can be “joyful” and “give thanks in all circumstances” regardless what they are confronting.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, 16 “Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Being thankful is in every aspect of the life of a Christian
Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
How can you encourage others to do the same as this verse is telling us? Also, how can we all year long be more vocal and expressive about our thankfulness to God? A good lesson is from the apostle Paul. Paul wrote his letter to the Colossian believers under harsh conditions while being in prison. He was able to maintain his attitude of thankfulness because he knew he was being thankful to an unchanging God. The closer we are to God in our lives the more we will experience Him. The more we experience Him in our lives the more reason we will have to be thankful for Him.
Pastor John
John 15:7-8
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
