The Gravity Of Gratitude (Thanksgiving)

He said that they never said, "Thank you," because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness.

The opportunity to give thanks publically is an opportunity to tell each other about his name…his nature.

What can we be thankful for?

1. God gives all the good gifts of life. (His generous love)

James 1:17 (NLT)

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father.”

Every thing that is good on the earth we are to trace to him.

When we give thanks…we make the connection. We discover the sacred in everything.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 (GW)

Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks. The word of God and prayer set it apart as holy.

To be made sacred means to set something apart…to dedicate it to God’s service.

When a young boy offered his lunch to Jesus… we are told how he lifted it up and gave thanks…he dedicated it for God’s use. In giving thanks for life's blessings we are making them holy and dedicating them to God's service and for His name's sake. It changes them from that of being good… to that of being a gift...a gift we dedicate to the giver’s service…to God. Do you enjoy beauty…the arts….music? God created melody….and it’s a gift to lift up in thanks and service to the Giver.

The same is true of our time, our money, our homes, our cars, our bodies, our toys, our games, our furniture, even our families.

What gifts in life would you like to thank God for giving?

2. God works good in all circumstances. (His sovereign love)

John 5:17 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.”

God is working in your life RIGHT NOW....in the circumstances of life.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Personally…I know that when I find myself in circumstances that may be hard …I feel like I’m losing a sense of God’s goodness… I feel less of God’s light and things can seem a little darker … until I change the perspective and seek to see what God may be doing….and it can lead to gaining more light. God is always at work with you.

Yes in all circumstances….not that all circumstances are good…but He can work good.

It’s hard to be thankful in hard times. But it can help to realize something.

The best of who you are has involved how you’ve grown through the challenges of life. You are a bigger and better person because if it.

It’s natural to want life to be easy in every way. But the richest and deepest qualities come from the challenges.

In that sense we can be thankful that we don’t have everything you want.

In that sense we can be thankful for our limitations, because they keep us humble and growing.