Thankfulness

This November we have spent time reflecting on thankfulness. Why should we be thankful? For what should we be thankful? Who should we thank? As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we want to focus on what God’s Word teaches us, and what He says in response to these questions.

We looked at why we should have an attitude of thankfulness. As we sought the answer to why, we also learned about what to be thankful for and who to thank. Among many reasons to be thankful, we discovered that these three show up all through Scripture. First, we see that God is good. Psalm 106:1, Psalm 118:1, and Ezra 3:11 say that we should thank God because He is good. In the midst of a broken and evil world, the ruler of all is good. He sees the bad and uses all things for good. Second, we found that God’s love for us endures forever. Psalm 107:1, 1 Chronicles 16:34, and Jeremiah 33:11 express how God’s love never ceases. Even when we fail, feel unworthy, or think we cannot be good enough, His love for us continues. The Creator of all things loves us! Third, we see throughout the Bible that God saves us. In 1 Corinthians 15:57, Hebrews 12:28-29, and Psalm 50:23, we are encouraged to give thanks because of the salvation provided to us by God. He sent Jesus to Earth to restore our broken relationship to perfection. Sin made us unworthy, but Jesus saved us. Despite everything, Christ came and lived a perfect life, took on the sins of all mankind that separated us from God, paid the penalty of those sins - death, and then rose from the dead so we can live with Him forever. He saves us. All we have to do is believe.

Therefore, as we think about the idea of thankfulness, we realize that we have great reasons to give thanks to God. The King of all Kings is good, He loves us, and He came to save us. The Lord loves us enough to pursue a relationship with us so that we may find salvation in Him. He wants to provide us with fullness of joy! Will you thank God for these things with us? What else are you thankful for?