For Christians, giving thanks is not merely for a special day of the year but a way of life. That’s why in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul writes, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV). Still, the Thanksgiving Day holiday serves as a good occasion for us to talk about the importance of thanksgiving.
It’s highly possible that some of you reading this post at least don’t feel as though you have much to be thankful for. Let’s face it; even Christians have those seasons in life where things get gloomy. In this post, however, I want to share with you some reasons to be thankful—even when your circumstances may suggest otherwise.
In Psalm 100:4, we find these words: “enter into his gates with thanksgiving,” and “be thankful unto him.” Verse 5 gives us three reasons why we should do this:
1. “The Lord is good.”
So, what makes God good? He is good because He does good and not evil. In fact, Jesus says there is none good but God (Matthew 19:17). We may not know what He is doing about our situation. But if we believe He is good, we know that He’s up to something good and not evil. For that we should be thankful, though things right now may suggest otherwise.
2. “His mercy is everlasting” (KJV).
God’s mercy denotes His kindness and compassion toward us. A key word in this verse is everlasting. No time exists when God is not merciful toward us. What we are talking about here is the very character of God. Sometimes, we offend His holiness. During those times, it is His right to deal with us harshly. But, thank God, He does not give us what we deserve. He always shows us His mercy. And for that, we should be thankful.
3. “His truth endureth to all generations.”
More accurately, His faithfulness endures to all generations. Not only to the generations of the past, but to all generations. We may live under a different era, the New Testament; but we serve the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was faithful to them, and He is faithful to us today. And not to us only but also to our children and our children’s children. This is yet another reason for us to be thankful.
Notice, that not one of the reasons stated above are contingent upon what God has done for us. They are all based upon the person of God and His character. Our reasons for being thankful to God should not be merely conditional. We should abandon the idea of basing our thankfulness on what’s going on in our life.
Those things have nothing to do with the reasons the psalmist says we should be thankful. This Thanksgiving Day and everyday let us be thankful because God is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His faithfulness extends to all generations.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.