Thank You, Lord!
Today’s Verse:
Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ~Psalm 106:1
Today is celebrated as Thanksgiving. Across our landscape and around the world, everyone is encouraged to set aside this day to express our thanksgiving to God. Thanksgiving in America has its roots after the pilgrims arrived in 1620 and established themselves. Abraham Lincoln formally declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. And so, today everyone is called upon to take time to say, “Thank you, Lord!”
There is the DOCTRINE of thankfulness.
Thanksgiving implies a heartfelt expression of gratefulness for everything God has done in our lives. It is God’s will that we are thankful for everything and in everything. Thanksgiving is an integral part of worship. Thanksgiving is to be daily. Thanksgiving is to be continuous and recurring. I am reminded of the old woman who only had two teeth. She gave thanks that the two teeth were able to meet together when she ate! Thanksgiving is most evident when the grace of God is at work in an uninhibited manner in our life. Thanksgiving is an acknowledgement that God is good all the time and all the time God is good.
There is the DEFICIENCY of thankfulness.
As we read Ps. 106, the history of Israel after its deliverance from Egyptian bondage is remembered. It is a sad commentary of the absence and deficiency of thankfulness. A lack of thankfulness indicates how selfish and forgetful we are. When thankfulness is missing, we see an entitlement spirit. This kind of spirit sees God as owing us instead of us owing Him. We see God for what we can get from God instead of what we should be giving to God. We see our life purpose as to what we can accumulate for our purposes instead of what we can give away to glorify Him. The absence of thanksgiving is a sin as wicked as covetousness and murder. It should bother us if our thanksgiving is not equal to our prayer requests. It should bother us if we are not thankful for the basic and little things we take for granted. When ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy, all ten were cleansed. However, only one came back to glorify the Lord and give Him thanks. Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” Are we in the minority or the majority when it comes to being thankful?
There is the DUTY of thanksgiving.
This morning, let us resolve to be make thanksgiving a daily recurring routine. First, we must confess the sin of being unthankful. Second, we must ask God to transform our spirit into one that is thankful. Take time to thank the Lord for your salvation, for your health, for your family, for your church, for your job, for your opportunities, for your comforts, for your privileges, for your trials, for your spiritual mentors and leaders, for where you are in life, for being a parent, for the parents God has given you, and for Who God is and what He does for us. In spite of our deficiency, God is merciful and is faithful to us each day. Take time to thank the Lord as a husband and wife, and as a family. Take time to thank the Lord with those who have a limited and smaller family. Take time to thank the Lord for those who are going through trials and are suffering.
A thankful spirit is transforming. It will take you from being bitter to being better. It will take you from being blinded to being blessed. It will turn your hurting to healing. It will turn you from being negative to being positive. It will transform you from being critical to being Christ-centered. This morning, let us arise and say, “Thank you, Lord!”
Have a thankful God Morning!