November 26, 2023
“Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1. (NRSV)
“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” Colossians 1:3 (NASB77)
“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.” Psalms 100:4-5 (NRSV)
It is my hope and prayer that you had a wonderfully blessed day designated as Thanksgiving. Although we are in the season of thanksgiving, we are cognizant that we are to be grateful always and in everything. We also recognize that every day God gives us is a day to show our gratitude to our Savior for His great sacrifice just for us!
Why is expressing our gratitude to God so important? Giving thanks also reminds us of how much we do have and not focusing on what we do not have. It is in our best interest to be reminded that everything we have is a gift from God. Without the spirit of gratitude, we become arrogant and self-centered. Then it is easy to begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our own and in our own strength. Being grateful keeps our hearts in right fellowship with God, the Giver of all good gifts. Expressing our gratitude helps us remember that God is in control.
Principally, expressing gratitude for the Believer in Christ is not an option it is a fundamental concept
throughout the Bible! Gratitude is the heartbeat that acknowledges and celebrates God’s everlasting love. In fact, we cannot adequately praise and worship God without also being grateful. The Word of God is filled with commands to demonstrate our gratitude by giving thanks to God! We should be thankful because God is worthy of our thanksgiving. God included repeated commands in His Word about being thankful, reminding us that a grateful heart is a happy heart!
Let’s look at Some of the Commands to be Grateful:
♥ Psalm 136:26. “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.” (NIV)
It is the eternal nature of God’s love and the reason for our ongoing thanksgiving. God’s love is steadfast, and our gratitude should reflect this unchanging aspect of His character.
♥ Psalm 100:4-5. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (NIV)
Showing gratitude is a time when you express appreciation for the blessings in your life. We are encouraged to show our gratitude to God by approaching God with thanksgiving and praise, recognizing His goodness and everlasting love. Thanksgiving is not just about being grateful for what we have but also acknowledging the character of God.
♥ Colossians 3:15-17. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 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.” (NIV):
Emphasizing the importance of being grateful is a way to bring peace and unity among Believers in Christ. It is not just a personal act but can be a communal expression of gratitude and worship.
♥ 1 Thessalonians 5:18. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (NIV).
We are reminded that being grateful is not limited to times of abundance and joy but should be a constant attitude in our lives, even in difficult circumstances. It’s a way of aligning ourselves with God’s will.
♥ Ephesians 5:19-20. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV)
We are to connect being grateful with worship through music and singing. It’s a reminder that our gratitude can be expressed in various forms, including song and praise.
♥ Ephesians 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (NRSV)
A heartbeat of gratitude is not only right and fitting; it is actually healthy and beneficial to us. It is a reminder of the bigger picture that we belong to God, and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing and we have an abundant life in Christ. Being grateful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain of current circumstances.
On the flip side, we must be mindful that ingratitude is a terrible sin. When we refuse to express gratitude, we grow hard-hearted and proud. We take for granted all God has given us and become our own gods.
The sin of ingratitude has severe repercussions. Romans 1:18–32 provides a detailed description of the downfall of a person or a society, listing every kind of rebellion and idolatry, including being ungrateful. Verse 21 says, “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.” This tells us that God takes gratefulness, and ungratefulness very serious. As long as a person or a culture remains thankful to God, they retain a sensitivity to His presence.
Reflecting, I am often reminded of a Pastor who made this statement, “all complaints are ultimately against God.” This statement often comes to mind when I reflect on my complaints because as a Believers in Christ, we are admonished not to grumble or complain. The Word of God is clear how we are to speak. In the book of James chapter 4 reminds us that if we grumble and complain, it shows how worldly we still are!
The Greek word translated “complainer” means literally “one who is discontented with his lot in life.” It is akin to the word grumbler. Galatians 5:22-23 clearly depicts that complaining is certainly not a fruit of the Spirit! In fact, is detrimental to the peace, joy, and patience that come from the Spirit. For the Christian, complaining is destructive and debilitating personally and only serves to make our witness to the world more difficult. Who, for instance, would be attracted to a religion whose adherents are dissatisfied with life and who continually grumble and complain?
A complaining spirit leads to fighting and quarrelling because complaints come from unfulfilled desires, which lead to envy and strife. Remember, that was the root of the problem with the sons of Israel, in Genesis chapter 37 when they chose to dispose of their brother Joseph, because of his dream?
Have you ever reflected on your day or week and remembered various interactions, conversations or responses and said to yourself; “I could have responded or made certain statements in a different manner?” Have you ever complained about a situation or person although it may have been true, did you pray for the person and yourself in the situation to honor God knowing that all events both positive and negative are ultimately under God’s sovereign control.
Gratitude toward God requires a belief in God at the very least, and ingratitude fails to fulfill our responsibility to acknowledge Him as referenced in Proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalm 100:4. When we refuse to express gratitude or be thankful to, we grow hard-hearted and proud. We take for granted all God has given us and become our own gods.
HEART 
CHALLENGE: We can have a grateful heart toward God even when we do not have a heartbeat of gratefulness in or for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be grieving and be grateful. We can hurt and still be grateful. We can be angry at sin and injustice and still be grateful toward God. This is what the writer of Hebrews is saying in 13:15 it is called a “sacrifice of praise”. Being grateful to God keeps our hearts in right fellowship with Him and saves us from a host of harmful emotions and attitudes that will rob us of the peace God wants us to experience noted in Philippians 4:6–7.
A GRATEFUL
HEART: David in Psalm 30 David had a grateful heart and gives thanks to God following an obviously deliverance out of a difficult circumstance! David says, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.” This psalm of thanksgiving not only praises God in the moment but remembers God’s past faithfulness. It is a statement of God’s character, which is so wonderful that praise is the only appropriate response. Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.” Here we have two reasons to be thankful: God’s constant goodness and His steadfast love.
FATHER GOD, Thank You for Your Word that give us clear instructions on how to praise You and let You know how grateful we are. Forgive us for complaining! Help us to always have grateful hearts toward You for You are good and Your steadfast love endures forever, and Your faithfulness is to all generations. Thank You Father, in the Precious, Powerful and Preeminent Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, Amen!