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.
When we can understand and accept the fact that God is in control, we can learn to relax and thank HIM that he is bigger than our problems, our pains, our hardships. Our lifes problems are opportunities for GOD to show us HIS hand at work in our lives. Now I’m not saying to go and put yourself in problems just to see what HE will do. But remember the poem and picture, of the footprints in the sand. It is at those low times that HE will carry us through.
The trouble is, we forget who God is, and what he has done in past. Looking to scripture, we see the LORD taking people through difficult times, then restoring them with an overflowing blessing. However, GOD wants us to think back to those days and not forget to be grateful. Ezekiel 16:43 reminds us that the LORD scolded those who were thankless in addition to all their other faults. They didn’t remember the days of their youth and grumbled and murmured about the bad times. Being thankless is a sin!
Its not easy when we are going through hard times to be grateful. But we must learn that expressing our gratitude and appreciation, saying ‘thank you’ is a habit that must be learned. We don’t do it naturally; we had to be taught to do so. Our parents showed us what was right. And eventually we would learn what it is to be truly grateful and be able to genuinely show our appreciation. Doing so is a sign of a person being at peace with GOD and themselves as well as their surroundings. Being content in every thing and grateful in every situation, knowing that GOD is in control and has us in HIS best interest.
So, what can we be thankful for today?
THANKS – remembering the benefits of gratitude
Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
THANKS – HIS MERCY
1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalms 107:1; Psalms 118:1)
THANKS – HIS HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
Psalm 30:4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 97:12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
THANKS – HIS NAME
Psalm 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
HIS NAME: Jehovah-Jireh, our provider. Jehovah-Yahweh, our savior. Jehova-Rapha, our healer. Jehovah-Shalom, our peace. El-Shaddai, the Almighty God. These are just a few of the NAMES of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The I AM. And we can know and speak to HIM by HIS NAME.
HIS WORKS, LOVE AND TRUTH
Psalm 75:1 Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.
Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
WE’VE BEEN GIVEN A GIFT
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
WE HAVE AN INHERITANCE TO HIS KINGDOM
Colossians 1:12-13 12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
IT IS HIS WILL THAT WE GIVE THANKS IN EVERY SITUATION AND CIRCUMSTANCE.
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.
James 1:2-5 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
WITH OUR ALL
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.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around this little word ‘ALL’. Are we giving ALL our love, ALL our trust, ALL, everything, our total mind, soul, strength, life to the LORD?
I think the heavenly hosts understand the word ALL.
HOW TO – FROM THE ANGELS
Revelation 7:11-12 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us give TO the almighty GOD, our Heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus our LORD, all our thanks FOR HIS benefits, IN every thing. Amen!
