Being Thankful to God

In a world filled with so much injustice, wars, and anguishing hearts, taking time to reflect upon God's goodness and being truly thankful to God can be elusive for most Christians. Yet, as Christians, Paul admonishes us, as we read in Ephesians 5:20, to be thankful at all times: 

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; (Eph 5:20 KJV)

Before we proceed to examine scriptures on this important topic of thanksgiving, I would like us to reflect on a hymn from the Methodist Hymnal 427 vs 1, which was so strong on my heart when I begun to pen this piece:

"Through all the changing scenes of life,
in trouble and in joy,
the praises of my God shall still
my heart and tongue employ."

This hymn, written by Nahum Tate, is based on Psalm 34, where the Psalmist saw the need to praise God in the midst of trials. You may ask, how can I praise or thank God in my suffering? The bible provides us with several examples of people who were thankful despite their sufferings but let's examine some key verses of Psalm 69, a Psalm of David:  

Psa 69:1-3; 29-31 KJV                                                                                         (1) To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. (2)  I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. (3)  I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God....(29)  But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. (30)  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. (31)  This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

At the beginning of the Psalm we note that David was in affliction. Despite the anguish in his soul, however, he found a reason to magnify God with thanksgiving. This reflects his confidence in the ability of God to bring him deliverance. This goes to indicate that no matter what you may be going through, being thankful to God is essential for the Christian, and that is because it illustrates your faith and more importantly, it pleases our God. See verse 31, where David points out that magnifying God with thanksgiving pleases the LORD better than anything else. He didn't say being sad pleases God but praising and thanking God is what pleases Him. This is important to note and more so because we are created for God's pleasure. Also, in Paul's letter to the Church in Thessalonica, he points out that we are to give thanks in every thing because it is the will of God concerning us. Meaning, God desires that we give thanks no matter what. We read:

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1Th 5:18 KJV)

Let me point out that the act of thanksgiving cannot be done in a vacuum. In the quest to be politically correct, many people, including most of us Christians, often proclaim to be thankful without directing this thankfulness. To whom are you thankful? We must realize that the only person who truly deserves our thanksgiving is God. As we read in Ephesians 5:30, we are to direct our thanksgiving to GOD, who is also our Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, there may be people who have been a blessing to us in diverse ways and while it is important to directly thank them, we must also offer thanksgiving to God for blessing us with those people. 

Every child of God has something to be thankful to God for. If for nothing at all the gift of salvation, which is much more precious than any gift one could ever receive in this life, provides one major reason to be thankful to God. In this regard, the story about the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19 is instructive on the importance of offering our thanksgiving to God for everything He does for us. We read below: 

Luke 17:11-19 KJV                                                                                               (11) And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. (12) And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: (13) And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. (14) And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. (15) And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, (16) And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. (17) And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? (18) There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. (19) And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

The above passage is illustrative of how often we take for granted the goodness of God shown to us. Isn't it easy for us to perceive the goodness of God to be the norm because we consider ourselves to be God's children and therefore it is His responsibility towards us? It is important for us Christians to not take our familiarity with God and His goodness to us for granted. Let us not become like the other nine lepers who failed to recognize the importance of giving thanks to the healer. It is plausible to reason that these other nine lepers may have been thankful in their hearts but that was not sufficient because we see Jesus asking the Samaritan, who also happens to be a foreigner, where the other nine were. This shows that God expects us to show our gratitude for His goodness towards us through praises and thanksgiving. A crucial lesson to note from this encounter between Jesus and the ten lepers is that being thankful and directing this thankfulness to the one who truly deserves it, which is God Almighty, bring complete wholeness, and by this I mean both physical and spiritual wholeness.

I will end with another hymn from the Methodist Hymnal 10 written by Martin Rinkart:

1. Now thank we all our God, 
with heart and hands and voices, 
who wondrous things has done, 
in whom this world rejoices; 
who from our mothers' arms 
has blessed us on our way 
with countless gifts of love, 
and still is ours today. 

2. O may this bounteous God 
through all our life be near us, 
with ever joyful hearts 
and blessed peace to cheer us; 
and keep us still in grace, 
and guide us when perplexed; 
and free us from all ills, 
in this world and the next. 

3. All praise and thanks to God 
the Father now be given; 
the Son, and him who reigns 
with them in highest heaven; 
the one eternal God, 
whom earth and heaven adore; 
for thus it was, is now, 
and shall be evermore. 

Beloved, let's be thankful to God for everything and at all times because it is pleasing to Him and it is His will concerning us, bearing in mind that our thankfulness to Him also moves Him to go beyond our physical needs. May the Holy Spirit transform our hearts to live a life of thanksgiving to God. 

Stay blest!