Choose to Be Thankful
Thankfulness is a choice. It recognizes that we have received a benefit from someone else. It admits that without that benefit, we’d be doing without something. Even if we don’t particularly care for the thing given, we are thankful for the spirit of generosity which prompted the other to share it with us. Today we’ll look at three passages that have to do with thankfulness and in each case observe that thankfulness is linked to another idea.
The first Psalm I learned in its entirety was Psalm 100: Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
This Psalm links thankfulness with our coming into God’s presence together: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.” This suggests collective thankfulness - gratitude expressed when we are with others whether in a formal meeting or casually among friends. We’ve probably all witnessed situations where criticism acts like a contagious disease spreading from one negative comment to the entire conversation. This seems to happen without anyone trying to direct it.
At the same time thankfulness can be contagious if we let it. When we’re with others, we have some measure of influence in promoting expressions of gratitude and appreciation for God, first and foremost, and the good gifts He gives us.
In Romans 1 we read, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:20-21 NKJV).
The comment about thankfulness is phrased negatively here - “they did not glorify him as God nor were thankful.” Let’s flip that and make it positive by putting it like this: “When we are thankful we glorify God.” And why is that? Because our thankfulness indicates our submission to what God is doing and when we submit to what God is doing, we acknowledge His lordship in our life. When we express our gratitude He is glorified because He is getting the credit.
When we feel competent, we are less likely to be thankful because we don’t readily recognize that it is the gift of God that has made us so. We live with the illusion that our intelligence, abilities, and strength are somehow innate. To thank God, would be to recognize that we are not the source of these benefits. That is exactly the point! When we take the credit for the good things happening in our life, our family, our community and so on. God is not glorified. When we express our thankfulness to Him, He is glorified, because we are acknowledging Him to be the source of the good things happening around us and we are simply the channels through which that good comes.
We’ll take time to look at one more thing associated with thankfulness. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). Here I see a link between our thankfulness and the peace of God in our lives because when I am thankful I am expressing satisfaction with the way God is working in my life.
So often we take responsibility for the way things are or, if they are negative, we blame other people for the way things are. When we acknowledge God's Lordship, there is a sense in which we make it His responsibility. We confess that our best efforts cannot control things. We admit that in spite of other’s evil intentions, their influence is limited.
In any given situation, we recognize that God controls the balance of power. When things seem to be going well for us, it is because God is acting. When things seem to be going against us we can rest in the fact that God can redeem any situation as He works things together for our good. This is how the peace of God comes into the daily events of life. Right now, I know people who are dealing with conflict in relationships, loss of employment, ill health and other such things. Those who are looking to God in their trials have peace. The trial isn’t going away, but their struggling has ceased. If we are convinced that God cares deeply for us then we can submit to any circumstance, resting in His providence and power.
Being thankful is about far more than obeying a command. It’s about a way of looking at life, a worldview, if you like. Being thankful in every circumstance acknowledges God’s role in it and takes much of the burden off of us. This is not a call to passivity. Often we need to take an active role. But it does lift the burden as we say, “Thank you Father. This is from you and I receive it with thanks looking forward to how You’ll bless me and glorify yourself.”
Ron Hughes
© April 2009
