You’re walking into the store and someone stops to hold the door for you. You respond with a sweet “thank you” and move on with your day without really stopping to consider what you said. Were you actually thankful? Or was it just a natural response and the polite thing to say? How often are we as Christians so casual in expressing thankfulness to our Savior?
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:18
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 136:1
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6
Thankfulness is a very important part of our walks with Christ. When looking at the subject I found that the theme is woven all throughout the Bible. It is a crucial part of our worship of the Lord. The lack of true thankfulness will create a strain in our relationship with God. Some of the most Godly men in the Bible often expressed thankfulness to God and warned us of its importance. We find many Psalms of thankfulness written by David. Some were written in victory, but others were written in the midst of trouble. David was careful not to forget God’s faithfulness of times past and made sure to communicate that to the Lord. All throughout the New Testament, Paul greatly expressed his gratitude even in the midst of persecution. In I Thessalonians 5:18, he instructed the people to be thankful in his final words of exhortation in the letter. In Romans 1:21, we see that the lack of thankfulness leads to a downward spiral and a hardening of the heart. In 2 Timothy 3, “unthankful” is one of the characteristics of perilous times.
Expressing thankfulness to God is not for His benefit but for our own. In the midst of the hardest trials, focusing your thoughts on the many blessings will help give a clearer vision and not be so blinded by the difficulty. In recent months, in the midst of a storm, a friend stopped and said “hey let’s talk about the things that we’re thankful for.” By the end of the conversation, we both agreed that through that the Lord provides such unexplainable peace. I have since implemented that practice into my life. It truly helps to keep one's eyes on the Lord and on His goodness.
Let us be intentional this week in expressing genuine thankfulness to God. He deserves our praise in every season. When we neglect having a heart of thankfulness, we are acting as a hindrance in our own lives.