What Are You Thankful For?

Thanksgiving Day. All across the United States friends and families will join together. Many will eat a traditional meal of turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Actually more than a few will overeat of this fare. Throughout the nation people will feel a greater sense of thankfulness. They will express it more readily on Thanksgiving Day.

Often this sense of thankfulness is vague and undefined. Somehow, many people just have and awareness of gratefulness at this time of year without truly considering the multitudes of reasons to be thankful. Even as we begin to think about the many things for which we are grateful, it can be easy to forget just who we are thanking. Gratefulness is a wonderful feeling. For it to be profitable though, it must turn from a feeling to an action. We must give thanks to whom it is do.

True thankfulness is not vague.  There are specifics. We must name our blessings and acknowledge that all good comes from God. “Every good gift and every perfect (free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse].” (James 1:17 AMP)  As we take the time to think about these gifts we will not only feel thankful but grow in excitement to give that thanks to our Creator who has blessed us with all things.

There are many, many reasons to be grateful to the Lord. I believe these reasons fall into three categories. The first is that we are grateful to God for who He is. “Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name and those attributes which that name denotes.” (1 Chronicles 29:13AMP)  When we give thanks for God's name we are giving thanks for all that that wonderful name entails. God's name is His character. There are so many names the Lord is called by in Scripture. Each denote an aspect of Who He is. And each one of them has a multitude of reasons for us to be thankful.

The second category of reasons to be grateful to the Almighty is for the things that He has done. King David gave thanks for these often.  “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!”    (Psalm 9:1 AMP)   Marvelous and wonderful only begin to describe all that the Lord has done in our lives. Amazing, faithful and true also come to mind.

A third category of reasons to be thankful to the Lord is for the amazing gift He has given to us. Jesus died and rose again to give the greatest gift of salvation to all who would believe in Him. “Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 AMP) What God’s love has provided for us goes beyond words. From this ultimate gift of eternal life to the littlest blessing of each day, God loves us in ways that are more than we can believe.

Thank You, Heavenly Father! Thank You, Jesus Christ! Thank You, Holy Spirit! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

So each and every day, remember who you are giving you your thanks to. Remember His mighty deeds and amazing gifts by itemizing them. You may find you become thankful just for being thankful.