Examining Thankfulness
We are entering the season where we most often talk about what we are thankful for. But for the Christian, Thanksgiving should not just be celebrated for a day. In fact, a spirit of thanksgiving, giving thanks to God, should be one of the most easily recognizable trait in a Christian. Although for many, we fail to continually thank God for what He has given us and instead adopt a spirit of ungratefulness, and an ungrateful heart is a heart that has turned cold to God.
There is a trait found in the United States that has always annoyed me, how can we one day express thanks for our family and the things that we have been given but then the next day go out and treat others with a heart of unthankfulness and disrespect. We take pleasure in the things we do not need and prioritize what is not worth desiring. While Thanksgiving and Black Friday may look a little different this year, the mentality is the same as all the other years. What is disheartening about this mentality is that many practice this when it comes to offering thanksgiving to our Lord. We come before Him when things are going our way and He is answering our prayers in the way that we hoped He would, but when we get the answer we want we do not turn to Him to give thanks.
This exact scenario occurred in Luke 17:11-19, “11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Here we see that ten different people all came before the Lord wishing to be healed, Jesus blessed all of them with the gift of healing but only one turned back to Him to offer praise and thanksgiving. This man knew that the man who had healed him was God and was worthy to be praised directly after receiving an answer to his prayer. And because of this Jesus states that it was the man’s faith in the Lord that made him well.
When we receive an answer to our prayers, we need to come before God to praise Him. While in this passage the sick man received what he was hoping for, it is important to note that sometimes an answer to a prayer is a no or a not now. No matter the answer, we need to come before God on bended knee and praise Him. This passage is important to show that we should not just feel gratitude, but also express gratitude.
It is not always easy to express gratitude when we are faced with an answer that we didn’t want. It is hard to remember that God’s will is best and that He has a plan for everything. When faced with these times, it is important to take on the attitude of David. He faced many good and difficult times but he continually praised God. The Psalms are filled with examples of David praising God throughout all his different situations. “1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:1-5
So how do we maintain a spirit of thankfulness? We need to take on the attitude of the Apostle Paul, he in no measure had an easy life and yet as we see in Ephesians 5:19-20 Paul continually gave thanks to God no matter the circumstances and this attitude made him a joyful person even when facing imprisonment and death. “19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father;”
There are many situations that we can be thankful to God for. First, be thankful for the material blessings that He has given. Humanity has a mentality of “the grass is always greener” and therefore we are never satisfied with what we have been given. We forget that God provides for our needs, not what we desire. He gives us what we need to bring glory back to Him or to pass on the blessing to another. Recently, there was a woman in my church who had been in a car accident. She was unable to afford to buy a new vehicle and because of this she and her son would not be able to continue to go to church. However, before the accident her older son had been given a vehicle that he did not need. God used this vehicle to ensure that not only would the women not have to make car payments, but to ensure that she was able to continue to go to church. God provides for what we need, it may not always be in the way that we imagined, but He will provide for us.
The hardest time to be thankful is when we are struggling. However, even when we are going through trials we need to thank God. All throughout the Bible we see examples of people facing trials but perhaps one of the best examples is David. He faces times of ease but also times of trouble, but no matter what he faced David had a spirit of thankfulness. “the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:5. We are reminded that God is good and His faithfulness continues. We also see throughout the Bible that God is with his people, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10. We should not wallow in a spirit of ungratefulness when we face hard times because God is with us. He will strengthen us and help us, to have the help of the God who made the earth is an unbelievably powerful thing! It is on His strength that we face the trials that we go through and when we come before Him with a joyful heart and a thankful attitude then we discover that “13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13.
Finally, be thankful for the free gift of salvation that we have been given. Humankind is separated from God because we have all sinned. Even a “minor” sin, and I used this term lightly because there is no minor sin to God they are all the same, has caused eternal separation from God. However, when we accept that God loves all of us that Jesus died for us rose again on the third day, and continues to reign today, then we will see that we have much to be thankful for. “16For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16.
So while we are entering the season of thankfulness, remember not to take on the mentality of this world. Instead keep your heart focused on Christ and see that you have much to be thankful for. “18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex