While many associate Thanksgiving Day with family, overeating and over-shopping, it should propel us toward a heart of gratitude. It is a time to consider God’s goodness, grace, and provision for us. He is the Author of encouragement, help, and hope. I like to think of Thanksgiving as trust-giving and thanks-living.
Thanksgiving should not be a one day event, but a life committed to thanks-living each day. It is an act of trust-giving to be thankful even in the hard places of life. And when things go well it is easy to forget to pause and say thank you to the Giver of those good things. Paul exhorts us to give thanks in all circumstances. He said the Bible points us in the right direction. “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4).
God’s covenantal relationship with us is the basis for thanks-living. God said, “I will maintain My love to him forever, and My covenant with him will never fail” (Ps 89:28). The psalmist said, “He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever- holy and awesome is His name” (Ps 111:9). We partner with God when we affirm that we are holding on to Him and His goodness. Our thanksgiving testifies to others that He is worthy of trust.
William Law, a classic Christian writer in the early 18th century, wrote, “Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most, or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms…but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness, and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”
Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not a day. Can we commit to willing everything that God wills and cultivating a grateful heart that finds the goodness of God in all things even the hard things?
May you be blessed daily with a heart ready to praise God for all things in sincere trust-giving and thanks-living.
© 2016 by Sylvia Gunter. Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com. An archive of past devotionals is available on the website.
