The Holy Spirit has been teaching me about thanksgiving, what it means to God and does for us. Giving thanks to God, Praising Him and being appreciative of His faithfulness, goodness and grace upon our lives; these are necessary for us as His children (Psalm 100). I have outlined ten important reasons why we must show gratitude and I pray that you would be spurred up to live a life of thanksgiving and reap its rewards after reading this.
·
•It is God’s will &
pleases Him (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 50:23). Now, isn’t this the reason that we live? To please our Father, who isn’t just our Father but means everything
to us. And how can we not want to please Him, who gave us His all and loves us
in more ways than we could ever imagine?
We love because He first loved us and is constantly looking out for us
and so it is only right to please the one who has our heart by giving Him
thanks. It is just like our human relationships, we always want to do that
thing which pleases the one we love. God is our first love (Revelation 2:4) and
He has told us in his word that giving thanks in every situation pleases Him.
So, give thanks!
· •It is an offering to Him
(Hebrews13:15). The scripture teaches us that we should offer up our praises
and thanksgiving. God is our King and we show honour to a king when we bring
Him an offering. God is the King of all Kings. He makes kings and gives them
power and He is above all (Daniel 2:21). Therefore, we must honour Him by
giving Him our offering of thanks and praise.
· •It is a sacrifice (Hebrews
13:15; Psalm 50:23; Jonah 2:8-9). The only sacrifice our heavenly Father desires
from us is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Now I can hear you ask, why is it a
sacrifice? Remember that it pleases Him to give thanks in all situations. My
emphasis is on “all” because it is easy to give thanks when situations are
pleasing to us, but then He says to give Him thanks in all situations. This
means even in seemingly bad situations, He deserves our praise (Psalm 115).
Giving thanks, notwithstanding the situation makes it a sacrifice because it
costs us something to praise Him even when our situation seems bad, and we know
that our God rewards our every sacrifice (Isaiah 40:10). Sacrifice your anger,
depression, sadness or whatever emotion that may arise from going through an
unpleasant situation and give Him thanks in that situation!
·
•It is an act of Faith. We
know that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Thanksgiving is an act of faith because we may not yet see the results we
desire but we give thanks still (in all situations), knowing that He has
answered us and our results will surely manifest. God rewards our faith and when we put our
faith to work by giving thanks, we please Him which is His desire and we know
what a king who is pleased can do (Mark 6:22). This is not just a king we’re
talking about, but the King of Kings.
·
•It brings Blessings
(Isaiah 40:10). We reap a reward when we exercise our faith by giving thanks
because we please our King and He pours out His blessings upon us. Jesus
exemplified this by giving thanks for the five loaves and two fish with which He
fed the five thousand. He gave thanks and what He thanked God for, multiplied
(John 6:11). God multiplies what we thank Him for. Let us taste and see that
our God is good (Psalm 34:8) by giving Him thanks.
·
•The enemy is routed. Do
you remember King Jehoshaphat? Well, God instructed Him and the Israelites to
praise Him and we know what followed. He ambushed their enemies and made them
slaughter themselves (2 Chronicles 20). When we give God thanks, He honours us
and He puts confusion into the devil’s camp.
· •It reflects God and draws
others to God (Psalm 138:4-5).When we live lives of thanksgiving, God does
great things in our midst and His name is glorified just like the case of king
Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20) and what more does the Lord desire but that
others would see and know that He is God? It is His will that all should be
saved (2 Peter 3:9). When others see His wonders in our lives of thanksgiving,
they could be drawn to Him also.
·
•Keeps you Healthy and
refreshed (Proverbs 15: 13). Giving thanks as I have experienced, keeps you
happy and refreshes you. When you give thanks, there’s no room for fear, doubt
or other negative emotions; because God delights in our praises (Psalm 147:1;
22:3). His Spirit dwells in our midst and we are refreshed. A happy Spirit of
thanksgiving keeps us healthy. You want to stay healthy body, soul and mind?
Give thanks!
· •Sets you in a position
for more. When Jesus healed the ten lepers, only one came back to say “thank
you Jesus” and he was made whole (Luke 17:15-19). That was more than just being
healed, he was made whole! Thanksgiving sets you in a position for more
blessings and makes you whole.
•Shows you are mature and
humble. Growth is essential in every sphere of life, including our relationship
with God (Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 3: 2). As baby Christians it’s easy to
become discouraged and complain when things are not perfect but as we mature in
Faith, we are less moved by our surroundings and trust in the sovereignty of God
by giving thanks for everything because we know that God’s always got us. It
also shows we are humble enough to ascribe glory to Him (Psalm 34:2). He
desires that we grow in this way. Growth means promotion and we move to a
deeper level of intimacy in our walk with Him where He can use us for exploits.
“Oh! That, men would praise the Lord for
His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm
107:8). God desires we live the life of thanksgiving. Don’t you want to let go
of yourself and just soak in an atmosphere of thanksgiving? You were made for
this (His glory). He deserves your praise and wants to bless and make you whole!
About the Author: Chinazo Shana Okaro is a Nigerian woman who loves Jesus. She is also a
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