Canadian thanksgiving is this weekend. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take a brief look at what it means to be thankful. Let me offer a couple of texts for our perusal.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Ephesians 5:18-20)
[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-8)
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
This is a small cross section of biblical texts commanding us to be thankful. In them we see several themes.
Thankfulness is simply offering God the praise that is due him because he is the giver of all good gifts. It acknowledges that he is the Giver and we are the receiver. (cf 1 Corinthians 4:7) Thankfulness recognizes that we have done nothing for ourselves.
Thankfulness is not to be a fleeting emotion nor is it to focus only on temporary earthly blessings, but is to be a disposition cultivated by yielding to the Holy Spirit.
God is always good, therefore there are always reasons to be thankful.
We need to be thankful for other people in our lives. Other people are gifts from a good God. They are part of our sanctification and are part of the joy of life in community. Being thankful for others, and expressing it, builds healthy relationships.
Developing a disposition of thankfulness deepens our faith and helps fight against sin. Being thankful helps us to hold eternal and temporal things in proper balance. It forces us to see God as the source of everything good in our lives - both spiritual and physical - and sin as a destroyer of those things.
Thankfulness in all circumstances is not easy. Often trials and suffering offer little immediate, earthly reason for thankfulness. But even in the midst of them we are encouraged to be thankful knowing that God is good, he is in control, and that he is always working in his way and in his time for our good. (James 1:17; Romans 8:28)
A proper attitude of thankfulness is cultivated when we understand what God has done for us in the gospel. He has poured out his grace on us in Jesus Christ and now we lack no good thing because we are given all good things through Christ our Savior. This is true regardless of our circumstances.
Thankfulness helps deal with the anxieties and stresses of life because it focuses our attention on God and his goodness to us. It forces us to see ourselves as God’s children whom he will deny no good gift. (cf James 1:17; Philippians 4:6)
Thankfulness is part of our gospel witness to the world. Since thankfulness deflects attention to God, and in particular to the gospel, it is a clear and uplifting testimony to who our God is.
This thanksgiving be deliberate in your thanksgiving - practice it. Take time to thank God for all of the blessings in your life. Take time to tell those for whom you are thankful that you are thankful for them.
Soli Deo Gloria