Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; God's love endures forever (Psalm 106:1)
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:18)
Autumn. I love this
time of the year. I love the changing colors (though mostly I have to
go somewhere else to see the fall colors since the pine trees that
are so ubiquitous to our area are pretty much always green). I love
the crisp, cool, dry air. I love how the blue of the sky seems to
intensify with the cooler temperatures. I love that the gatherings of
friends and families that begin in November and make their way into
December.
I love
Thanksgiving.
In many ways, the
Thanksgiving holiday is a forgotten holiday – at least
commercially. The retailers jump from Halloween directly to
Christmas. But that's okay, because it means that Thanksgiving is a
bit of a quieter holiday. I like the quiet, because it gives us an
opportunity to focus on the reason for the holiday: to give thanks to
God.
Giving thanks to
God is one of the most basic expressions of faith. And yet, how many
of us practice it with enough regularity? How many of us start each
day by thanking God for the day as a gift and an opportunity – a
gift, in that it is a new day in which we have been given life; and
an opportunity in that each day presents a chance for us to use the
day to serve God and love God?
I recently made a
search of the term “give thanks” on a Bible search engine. Of the
twenty-seven times that phrase appears as an exhortation or personal
commitment (e.g., “Give thanks to the Lord” or “I will give
thanks to God”), the reason for giving thanks that was cited more
than any other reason is this: “for his (God's) love endures
forever.” Eleven of the twenty-seven times the writer exhorts us to
give thanks, it is simply because of God's eternal, steadfast,
unconditional love.
When you think of
it, why do we need any other reason to give thanks to God? Isn't
God's love enough?
You see, God's love
is the source of every blessing you and I receive – blessings
which, on a daily basis are far too numerous for us to count. God's
love is reason for comfort in the midst of trial and tribulation.
God's love is the reason for hope in the midst of despair. God's love
is cause for joy and happiness. God's love is our inspiration to love
– to love God, and to love our neighbor, and to love one another.
God's love is the basis for our hope of eternal life.
Give thanks to the
Lord for his love endures forever.
Life is so much
better when gratitude informs our perspective. Start each day with
gratitude. Fill each day with gratitude. End each day with gratitude.
Your life will be
better for it. I promise.
Give thanks to the
Lord, for his love endures forever.
Give thanks in all
circumstances; for this God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
