Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare His works with rejoicing.
Psalms 107:21-22
Thanksgiving and rejoicing…those are two beautiful words.
I think it’s wonderful that we can practice thanksgiving at any time during the year; that the act of being thankful isn’t limited to a holiday in the fall. I’ve decided that one of the best feelings to have is when I can take a deep breath, and offer a true Thank You to my Heavenly Father.
For me, I know that the idea of these two words was somewhat intimidating. I would wonder what thanks I could offer that would be sufficient, that would truly express the praise He deserves for all He has done in my life. I knew that I could never meet the requirement (or that’s what I thought). But I came to learn that He didn’t place requirements on the thanks we offer. He just said to sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving. And how we can—with the gifts we’ve been given, offer thanks through writing, through song, through helps, through whatever method you can.
I learned that thanksgiving and rejoicing are everyday acts. They are things we can do when we wake up, when we’re working, when we’re talking to friends. They are things that can become part of our character, things we can practice, and things that can become second nature. This is definitely something that I have been working on and something that I want to continue to work on. Daily He is by my side, helping me in these endeavors. This week let’s focus on thanksgiving…let’s focus on rejoicing!
Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, thank You for Your love and kindness, for Your patience, and for the gifts You gave us that we can use to offer You thanks. At times we may not know how to offer thanksgiving, it may not feel adequate, but to You it is beautiful. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Thank you, Tonya, for reminding us that God wants our thanksgiving but it doesn’t have to be complicated. He desires that it be simple and pure, straight from the heart, anytime and anyplace.
I remember taking a walk one morning when I lived in El Salvador. I was asking God “why did I get robbed yesterday? Why did my car break down yesterday?” A few minutes later I saw two little boys sleeping on a piece of cardboard on the sidewalk. Its amazing how my prayer did a complete turn-around. I said “God why do I get to live in a house?” Why do I get to be an American?” And yes, those boys got a warm meal and a blanket.