The What, Who, and Why of Thankfulness

WHAT Are You Thankful For?

Some time ago my wife challenged each member of our family to share three things for which we were grateful each night as we went to bed. It is easy to say the same things again and again (and hope that no one “steals” your list first!). The exercise was good for our home and for my own heart. I would recommend it to you and your family!

One thing that I have noticed when we are putting together our list of things for which we are thankful is that they often concentrate more on the material than they do the spiritual.

I am grateful for God’s provision – food, clothing, and the beautiful place He has allowed us to live. Yet we must never forget that the greatest realities for a Christian are spiritual! Your thanksgiving list reveals what is truly important to you. Praise reveals your priorities.

What God’s Word Says About Thankfulness

With that in mind, let us look at a list taken directly from Scripture of things for which we can be thankful. God’s Word not only gives substance to our prayers, it gives depth to our praise. The apostles are now giving their thanks directly to God in heaven, but we can join them in giving thanks for what the Lord has done for all of us…

I thank God for His “unspeakable” gift of grace to me.

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

I thank God for putting me into the ministry.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

I thank God for giving me the victory through Christ.

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25).

I thank God for the precious family and friends He has given us around the world.

“(I) cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:16).

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you” (Philippians 1:3).

I thank God for the spiritual stirring I see in churches across our country at this time.

“I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4).

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith growth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).

I thank God for souls being saved and the advancement of the gospel.

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you” (Romans 6:17).

“For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God” (1 Thessalonians 3:8-9).

I thank God that the best is yet to come.

“Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:12).

We have much for which to thank God in these days, but the best is yet to come.

WHO Are You Thankful For?

I once saw an ad on the front page of USA Today that read, “WHO are you thankful for?” When most of us list the things for which we are most grateful, it is a list of what instead of who. Oh yes, we say we are thankful for family. But, who specifically?

Or take, for example, the way we express gratitude for eternal life. “I am thankful for salvation, grateful that I do not have to go to hell. I am on my way to heaven.” We have reduced our thankfulness to something or someplace. In reality, eternal life is Someone. Eternal life is the life of the eternal One living in us! We should be grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

This same principle is evidenced most in our prayer life. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings; and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Several truths are evident. Thanksgiving is a key element of prayer. Thanksgiving is connected to intercession, or praying for others. But, here is the tough one: thanksgiving is to be made “for all men.”

There are some people it is hard to be thankful for! Who are you thankful for?

Give thanks for…

Give thanks for the one who led you to Jesus. I praise God for Mrs. Coley, who led me to know Christ when I was a five-year-old boy in her class. (We dedicated our First Steps book to this faithful servant of the Lord, who is now in Heaven.)
Give thanks for all who have helped you to know Christ better. Scores of names and faces flood my mind at this moment. Men, women, and young people who have taught me more of the Lord and encouraged me to love Him better.
Give thanks for those who have handed you a godly heritage. I love my parents and my grandparents more with every passing day. I am enjoying the blessings of God because of their faithfulness.
Give thanks for men of God who have taught you the Scriptures. Only four men have served as my pastor. Hundreds more have preached the truth to me. I thank God for every one of them!
Give thanks for true friends. God providentially allows people to cross our path. Divine appointments. I am rejoicing today in those precious friends who have inspired me to be more, do more, and want more for my life.
Give thanks for those who are in authority. Those who serve in responsible positions are not always right. Only God is infallible. Yet they labor as God’s appointed representatives. Paul reminds us to give thanks “for all that are in authority.”
Give thanks for difficult people. In Paul’s case, those who were in authority were the difficult people! We may think little of giving thanks “for kings” until we realize that the wicked and brutal Nero was the king of whom Paul thought when he penned these words.

Giving Thanks for All People

Frankly, it is easy to give thanks to those who have made a positive impact and investment in our lives. But what of Nero? We must give thanks for those men who make us run to Jesus. Some people serve as constant reminders of God’s goodness and love in the midst of evil. Thank God for every person who forces you to lean on the Lord for strength. They are God’s messengers to you!

Giving thanks is not reserved for a few; it is for all men. Stop and make a list of people for whom you thank God.

If appropriate, go a step further and write them a note to let them know you are grateful for them. A letter expressing thanksgiving can be a source of great help and blessing to others (1 Corinthians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). Then, allow your thanksgiving to lead you back to supplication, prayers, and intercession. Pray for those for whom you are thankful.

WHY Was Jesus Thankful?

The Gospel records provide insight not only into the prayer life of the Lord Jesus but into His “praise life.” The Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief was constantly thanking His Father. His thirty-three and a half years were spent not only considering the joy that was before Him (Hebrews 12:2) but also the joys that were all around Him. This is where I so often fail. I speak of the joys of Heaven to come but fail to recognize the Heavenly joys that the Father has sent down to me now.

I believe our Savior was a joyous person. It was this beauty that was so attractive to both hardened sinners and innocent children. I want that.

4 Reasons Jesus Gave Thanks

The grateful spirit of Jesus was one part of this beautiful life. He showed appreciation to those who ministered to His physical needs and those who offered Him worship. But true thanksgiving was reserved for the One who was worthy of it. Again and again our Lord gave thanks to His Father. And so should we.

The Lord Jesus Gave Thanks For Food.

Perhaps this seems the simplest thing on earth. Maybe that is the point. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). It all comes from Him.

When our Master took seven loaves and a few little fishes and fed four thousand, He gave thanks.
When He broke five loaves and two fishes and fed five thousand, He gave thanks.
When Christ bowed His head at the last supper with the disciples, He gave thanks.
When He was asked to have dinner with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He gave thanks.

The Creator of all sustenance gave thanks for simple provisions. When we sit down at the table with our families, we should do the same. Every thing on the table is a reminder of the One who made all things for us to enjoy.

The Lord Jesus Gave Thanks That The Father Had Revealed Truth To Common People.

In the middle of teaching His disciples, Jesus began to praise God: “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25).

Looking at rough fishermen and everyday workers, He could not contain His gratitude that Almighty God would choose to bring the riches of His glory to them! To me! I stand amazed that the Lord would let me be a recipient of His grace, a participant in His master plan. Thanks be unto God!

The Lord Jesus Gave Thanks That His Prayers Were Answered.

Standing at the tomb of Lazarus, about to raise him from the dead, the Bible says that “Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me” (John 11:41). The answer was not yet visible, but the prayer had been answered. What a lesson in faith! Faith and an attitude of gratitude always go together. We should never take for granted that God hears and answers our prayers.

Stand at your need, stand in the place of broken hearts, and rejoice that God hears you.

The Lord Jesus Gave Thanks For The Provision Of God In The Midst Of Suffering.

He would be on a cross in just a few hours. Enemies were plotting His death. Gethsemane and Golgotha lay ahead. He took bread and a cup and gave thanks. This is more than thanks for food and drink. The bread represents His body that is to be broken; the cup represents His blood that is to be shed.

Thanks? On that night? Christ gave thanks with the confidence that God’s plan was being fulfilled. This is the meaning of “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The Lord delivered a powerful lesson on thankfulness in Luke 17. But He did more than teach it…He lived it.

Peter tells us that we are to follow in the steps of Jesus (1 Peter 2:21). To follow His steps is to follow His example of gratitude. Leslie Flynn once wrote that Christ is not only the goal of our gratitude but the guide of it as well. Use Jesus’ “list” as your guide and give God glory for every good gift. He is wonderful, and He is worthy.

Listen to Scott’s series “A Season of Thanks” HERE, “Thank the Lord” HERE, and “Thankful in Difficult Days” HERE.

Following God’s Word & Finding Christ’s Joy.

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