Let's Talk About Thanks! (Part 3)

We should thank God for His mercy in not giving us what we truly deserve. There clearly is no comparison between what we owe our Creator for His mercy and compassion towards us and what we imagine others owe us due to slights, injuries and other trespasses. When we lack a thankful heart, we are more liable to hold grudges against others who we feel might have wronged us. How can we hold anything against anyone when we have in so many ways grieved our Father who has answered unfailingly with forgiveness time and time again? Thank Him for withholding His wrath on us when we have sinned against Him as well as our fellow man. We could not stand up under the weight of the vengeance that we might deserve. Instead of lashing out, He will put you on the right path. Thank Him! If you go astray, the Holy Spirit will warn you of your transgression. Thank Him for that too! We serve a good God! Praise Him!!

Christians have access to a constant flow of blessings that should be met and answered with an abundant, equal outpouring of thanks. For the privilege of continuing to reside in the land of the living and being one of the Creator’s elect, we should be thankful. The fact that He even has a plan for our lives, a plan that was conceived before we were even born, should fill us with gratitude. We should express our thanks to God for our trials as well as our triumphs since they all help to shape His ultimate will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Just to know that all things large and small are within our grasp – as long as they are within His will for us – just to know there is nothing that we cannot do or have in Christ should fill us with an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. There truly is so much to thank God for and that includes the gift of being able to praise Him.

We praise God as a form of thanks. When we praise, we uplift God in our hearts and our spirits. We commune with God to let Him know how grateful we are for the blessings that He has bestowed on us. We certainly did not get where we are by ourselves. We have God to thank for our very lives. We thank and praise him for all that He has done, is doing and will continue to do for us. We thank and praise Him that only He has the power and authority to do all these things. We thank and praise Him because only God is God. Let us continue to thank and praise Him for who He is. Without Him, where would we be? Dance the dance of gratitude, praising our loving, forgiving, awesome God and be thankful!

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In closing, I offer you a psalm of thanksgiving. Especially during this season, Psalm 100 serves as a basis for prayer and meditation. Our motivations for prayer are infinite and as varied as we are different. This psalm reminds us of more reasons to joyfully serve and worship Him. Many blessings to you and yours for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving. 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Prayer

Our Father, our God. We humbly come before you to give you many thanks. We thank you for choosing us to be part of the body of Christ, to be in your family. You have protected us from dangers seen and unseen - some that we might have brought on ourselves. For this we thank you. You have showered us with your grace and mercy when we ourselves did not extend the same grace and were not merciful to others. With a humble heart, we thank you. Only you love us unconditionally and patiently continue to work in and through us for your purpose and glory. We thank you for all these things. We appreciate that we even have the presence of mind to honor, praise and worship you with joy and gladness in our hearts. In the name of Jesus, we thank you. We ask that you continue to walk with us, guide us and keep us under the protection of the shadow of your wing. Amen.