Thank you, Jesus. Giving thanks begins with realizing that you have been given something valuable, beyond what you earned or deserved.
There are two sides of the foundational coin of thanksgiving. The first is admitting or knowing who we are and freely responding. The second choice is allowing an attitude of ungratefulness to settle in our hearts and suffering the consequences.
1 Corinthians 4:7 asks “what do you have that you did not receive?” In other words we brought nothing into this world, we did not create any of our faculties, aptitudes, or abilities that make us who we are, or do anything to cause us to be alive. God knew every aspect about us long before He knit us together in the womb. It isn’t that we have a checklist of twenty things we are thankful for, but rather there is nothing outside of the incredible treasure that we have been given. All any honest man can do is acknowledge he is blessed.
On the other side of the coin, the person who refuses to give thanks begins a downward spiral of delusion and pride. Romans 1:21 explains that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The person who will not acknowledge God as his creator, usually demonstrated by being thankful for who he is and all he has been given, then no longer can think with true understanding and becomes captured by false desires. Verse 22 continues that this person claims to be wise but actually is a fool.
Giving thanks to the Giver is so simple and so right. The word of God continually exhorts us to humble ourselves by understanding what we have been given and walking in an attitude of gratefulness and obedience. Taking time to express thanks reminds us how blessed and valuable we are. God doesn’t need our praise and thanksgiving, He simply is worthy and has been incredibly good to us. We are the ones that need the right attitude in order to experience and enjoy the tremendous relationship that His gift has made possible. Come to Him right now with a simple, “Thank you, Jesus.”
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One of my old Sunday school teachers still to this day will answer the question “How are you?” with “I’m blessed.” I love that about her. Being thankful is something that definitely comes from the heart. You are definitely right about giving thanks being so simple and easy. It is not hard, at all, to look right in front of you and find something that you are thankful for. For example, right now, as I type this, I am thankful for this computer and the technology that God has allowed mankind to develop. I am thankful for the ability to read and write. I am thankful for being able reason a response to the blog. I am thankful that I am thankful to God and know who he is and have a relationship with him. I am thankful for the person that wrote this blog and for being placed in an amazing Christian environment. And the list goes on and on, one thing leads to another. It is not hard to find simple things to be thankful for. But something else I am very thankful for is for knowing who to thank for everything. I get to know Jesus. That is something that I will always be thankful for. One of the mornings you asked us to name something in our head that we were thankful for, I thought to myself for a moment, and Jesus took my thoughts. I looked at my life and just suddenly was aware of how thankful I am to be where I am and who I am. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like at this moment in time without every single person I know and every situation I am in being there. Whether good or bad, everything happening in my life right now is happening for a reason. And because I know that God is in control and that he knows my future and sees me as I am, I wouldn’t have it any other way. And that sums up my thankfulness. It is cliché and simple to say “I am thankful for everything” but I am.
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