Giving Thanks. God's Will Concerning You

GIVING THANKS (Thanksgiving) God’s Will concerning you.

William Akehurst, HSWC

Giving thanks must be learned and practiced daily. It is God's will concerning you. Here are three things to remember. This is a message of giving thanks, for each and every day.

Psalm 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

1 Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

When did you learn to say thank you?

How did you learn to say thank you?

When the bank gave us that lollipop. Mom or Dad would say - “What do you say?”

When we failed to say thanks, the friendly reminder - “You’re Welcome”.

We say thanks, or thank you for a reason. The question is, is it just a saying, or is it from the heart?

What is it to say thanks?

Thanks: used as an expression of gratitude or appreciation for something

Gratitude: a quality of being thankful, to show appreciation for and to return kindness

Expressing kindness back to the giver. Showing appreciation,

Thanksgiving or giving thanks is an expression or an act of giving thanks.

We celebrate Thanksgiving Day with our Country because it was instituted for a reason. But many have forgotten that reason.

I heard the ad on the radio from OUR DAILY BREAD. They were asking the children what thanksgiving means. Several children said it was a day to be thankful, some talked of family gatherings, and turkey and the trimmings. The ad ended with one little boy saying - thanksgiving isssssssssssszzzzzz (long pause) I forget.

Carl Sandburg, an American poet once said, “when a nation falls, or a society perishes, one condition may always be found. They have lost sight of what had brought them along” (paraphrase). What is true of a nation, is also true of the individuals within that nation.

People around the world will occasionally take a moment to give thanks for their blessings. But too often, gratefulness or gratitude is not clear, or given without that heartfelt meaning. Sometimes its just a word thrown out because it’s polite to do so. Sometimes, it is even unclear or difficult to know WHO is being thanked, and FOR WHAT.

ILLUSTRATION: A CHILD'S PERSPECTIVE OF THANKFULNESS

THREE LITTLE WORDS. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER.

Here are 3 little words to think about when we consider giving thanks, or showing gratitude.

TO

FOR

IN (no not 2,4,6)

TO: thanks, or gratitude must be directed to someone or something.

We are thankful TO the LORD for HIS blessings. We are grateful TO our parents for what they did. We are thankful TO that neighbor or friend that lent a hand, or showed us an act of kindness. TO, a connection, without it, gratitude is useless or without meaning.

FOR: clarification of the gratefulness one feels. FOR WHAT are you grateful? It may be your family, your health, your husband/wife, or your faith in the LORD. FOR Sins forgiven. FOR the Hope of Eternity in Heaven.

IN: We must learn to be thankful IN every situation.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 IN every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

This is the will of GOD in Christ Jesus concerning you and me. That IN every thing, every situation, whether good or bad, that we give thanks.

This is quite a lesson to be learned. How often when things are going wrong do you feel thankful? How is it possible that when the rug has been pulled out from under you, and your world is falling apart, that you could give thanks?

It can only be so when we learn to TRUST in the LORD your GOD, and LOVE the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul and strength. Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Proverbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

We can only learn to be thankful in the desperate times, but putting our full trust and confidence in the LORD God, who has our total life and destiny in HIS control. In Everything. Every situation, condition, place and time, if we put our trust in the Heavenly Father, knowing that HE will see to it that all things work together for good, then and only then, are we able to say THANK YOU. Because we have learned that GOD is in control.

Thank you LORD, for putting me in this place and time, I trust that you are doing a work that perhaps I don’t understand, but your word says that my ways and thoughts are not yours, and YOU are God my provider, healer, and salvation. I put my trust in you.