In one of his sermons, Joseph Prince once said that “God is under thanked and we are under grateful.” I can’t help but agree with him. God truly is under thanked.
There are so many things that the Lord protects us from, so many ways in which He provides for us and so many things He does for us that we just aren’t aware of. And so many things we do not give Him thanks for.
But it’s time we started becoming more aware of all that God does for us. And it’s time we started making more of a conscious effort to thank the Lord.
Are You Giving Thanks to the Lord?
How often in the day are you giving thanks to the Lord? When you wake up in the morning do you thank Him for blessing you with another day of life? Do you thank Him for the ability to see, to walk and for your good health? Things we can sometimes take for granted. Do you thank Him for the prayers He has answered?
Or, are you too busy asking Him for things to do so? Are you too concerned with pointing out what you don’t have and what you feel you still need?
You see, being thankful is actually very important. As you spend time reading the Bible the more you’ll see that’s the case. One person who really emphasised the importance of giving thanks to God was the Apostle Paul.
Paul Encourages Us to Give Thanks
In almost all of his letters, Paul constantly reminds us to be thankful to God. In Colossians 3:15 he says:
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. (Emphasis mine)
And then in Ephesians 5:20:
…giving thanks for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Emphasis mine)
Then in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 he says:
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (Emphasis mine)
Always he stressed the importance of being thankful. But why? Why is it so important that we show our gratitude to God by being thankful? Well because He deserves it.
God Deserves Our Thanks
It is because of God that we are even alive. We live and breathe and move because of Him. (Acts 17:25) And of course, He has also given us salvation.
God has delivered us all from the grip of death and given us eternal, everlasting life through His Son. (John 3:16) He has poured out His love on us (Romans 5:5) and lavished us with abundant grace. (Ephesians 2:7) So of course, He is worthy of our thanks.
Then there is what He has done for you in your own personal life. If you were to take the time to take inventory of all that ways He has provided for you. All the ways He has protected you, comforted you and upheld you, you will realise that God is more than deserving your thanks and praise.
Being Thankful Opens Our Eyes to God’s Goodness
Another reason giving thanks to God is so important, is that it opens our eyes to seem more of God’s goodness. Once you get into the habit of thanking the Lord for the small and great things, you will begin to see His hand in everything. You will see God’s hand in every moment and season of your life and be more aware of how present He is. God is there moving and working all things together for your good.
This awareness that comes from a thankful heart is also what will build and strengthen your faith, as Paul tells us in Colossians 2:7 that we “abound” in our faith with thanksgiving.
To Be Thankful is to Be Content
Ungrateful people are never satisfied; they are never content with what people give them or do for them. The same goes for ungrateful Christians. They are never content with what God does for them.
But as Christians we are admonished to be content with what we have. (Hebrews 13:5) However, we can only be content when we start being grateful for what the Lord has give us already; when we start giving thanks to the Lord for what He has blessed us with. This is also how we give God the glory.
Giving Thanks is How We Give Glory
In the Gospel of Luke a story is told of ten lepers who approach Jesus for healing. After hearing their cry Jesus sends the lepers off and tells them to go show themselves to the priests. (Luke 17:14) As the lepers went on their way they were cleansed of their affliction.
One of the lepers, a Samaritan, realised this and rushed back to Jesus and “fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.”(v 16) (Emphasis mine)
Jesus said in response “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God but this foreigner?” (v 17-18)
Do you see that? By giving thanks, the leper was giving glory to God. This is how we too as disciples and followers of Christ can give glory to God.
By thanking the Lord, we acknowledge that it is God who provides and it is God who heals. It is Him who delivers and it is Him who sets free. Therefore it is the Lord who deserves all the glory and all of the thanks.
Be Thankful
Do you see now? Giving thanks to the Lord is vital, it is necessary and it is good. So why don’t you start doing it more often. Open your eyes and see the good things the Lord has done and then follow in the steps of the Psalmist in Psalm 100:4, who encourages us to:
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
