The Cause For Thanksgiving

Ephesians 5 tells us to give thanks for everything all the time. It is amazing to me how easy it is for us to forget this little commandment in the Bible. One lady prayed, "Dear Jesus, please teach me to appreciate what I have before time forces me to appreciate what I had." There are many causes for thanksgiving let me just give you a few.

1. Thank God for what you have
   


2. Thank God for what you don't have
   


3. Thank God for what you have had
   


4. Thank God for what you will have

Someone has noted that it is "better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings counting your troubles.

Just a brief reminder to give thanks for everything all the time.

The Cause Of Thanksgiving

We find an interesting verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 that tells us "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God..." When we talk about giving thanks in everything, you are probably prone to say, “but you don’t know my situation.” No I may not and others may not either, but it’s not so much about thanking God for the pain, or suffering, or discouragement, or whatever it might be. It is thanking God that He is working all things out for our good. That He is taking the things that come our way in life, and using them to bring glory to His name. A thanksgiving mentality puts a different perspective on our problems, it doesn't take them away. We are not thanking him for trials and tribulations, but rather thanking Him for bringing glory to Jesus through our suffering.
The spirit of thanksgiving should be a constant daily moment by moment experience because...

1. Thanksgiving is the command of God - Therefore, all forms of ingratitude are sinful
In everything give thanks (Col. 2:7 “abounding in therein with thanksgiving” Eph. 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things…” Col 3:15 “Be ye thankful”)


Joni Eareckson Tada, who was involved in an accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down, writes, “Giving thanks is not a matter of feeling thankful, it's a matter of obedience.


2. Thanksgiving is the Will of God – Not only is it commanded of us but it is God’s will that we get to the place that we can in everything give thanks.
John Macarthur put it this way, “in everything give thanks—allows believers no excuse for harboring Ingratitude. In everything carries an unlimited requirement. It refers to everything that occurs in life…. If you’re not obeying that command, you’re not following God’s will. Think of it like this: If gratitude doesn't come easy for you, neither will finding God’s will. Or to put it another way, if you struggle with being thankful, you’ll struggle with following God’s will.”

3. Thanksgiving acknowledges the Omnipotence of God. - O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. It shows that anything we have or get in this life comes from him. This includes all talents, abilities, personality, wealth, position, power, prestige, you get the message everything comes from God.

Giving thanks to God also shows that God is greater than any impossibility, problem or circumstance we may face in this life. It is always good practice to even Thank God in advance for what you believe or are praying for Him to do.

Let me share this poem with you by Lon R. Woodrum I think it speaks volumes about giving thanks in everything.

Be Thankful – Lon R. Woodrum
If you have many foes
And they press you pretty hard;
And from their bitter blows
You’re rather hurt and scarred-
But if you still can look around
And find a single friend
Who’ll stick to you thru thick and thin
Until the very end-
Thank God for that
Thank God for that.

If your purse is pretty lean
And you find that you are stuck
In tough financial bogs
Because of old Hard Luck-
Still if your heart is beating right
And your health is all okay
And by God’s grace you’re able yet
The game of life to play-
Thank God for that!
Thank God for that!

If sickness lays a grip
Upon your fevered form
If agony is in your world
And sweeps you like a storm-
But, still, if thru the mist of pain
The Holy Ghost has come
And thru your soul His raptures roll
When pain has made you numb-
Thank God for that!
Thank God for that!

If life has not seemed kind
Here on this sphere below,
And yours has been a homeless way
Like One of long ago;
Still, if by faith you see agleam
A house that brightly stands
In God’s own world of Home, Sweet Home-
A house not made with hands-
Thank God for that!
Thank God for that!

Five Principles of Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:1 tells us to give thanks unto the Lord, or we call it thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not just something we do one a day of the year or just one month of the year but is really an attitude of gratitude, that should be practiced every day of our lives. Here are five brief principles to help us in our giving of thanks to the Lord.

1. Thanksgiving should be directed to God – If I could give you a million bucks, and did I am sure one of the first things you would say is, "Thanks you" and you would be saying that to me, the one who gave you the million bucks. So often this time of year we are hearing a lot of people say, "I am thankful for...." and that is wonderful, but the one to whom the thanks is directed is missing. The Psalmist said, Oh give thanks unto the LORD.
   


2. Thanksgiving should be freewill, volunteer, cheerfully given to God - Thanksgiving is something we should enjoy doing, not simply because it is expected of us, or thought rude not to say it.
   


3. Thanksgiving should include action (thanksgiving is a verb, not an adjective) - This is done by taken every opportunity to publicly thank the Lord for every thing that comes our way.
   


4. Thanksgiving includes fellowship - Leviticus 7 talks about the offering of thanksgiving. In it are very detailed instructions on how they were to eat this offering as well. Thanksgiving is a feast of wonderful things that often brings the body of Christ together in a greater way than anything else.
   


5. Thanksgiving Brings God’s blessing and approval. When the thanksgiving offering was done acceptably and obediently by the law given, God was very pleased. It must have touched the heart of God to see someone bring their offering to the altar without being forced to, or because they had done some terrible thing, but because they loved God, and wanted to thank Him for what he had done.
   So it is with us when we offer to God our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, God must look down in love and adoration.
   
   Helen Keller that lady who was both blind and deaf one said, “for three things I thank God every day of my life: thanks that he has vouchsafed me knowledge of His Works; deep thanks that He has set in my darkness the lamp of faith; deep, deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to- a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song."
   I can’t help but think that as Helen Keller was making such a statement or as she came daily to God with these things that the Lord would stand to His feet, while the angels would stand around wiping the tears away from their eyes. What a scene it must make in heaven when God’s people give thanks.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.