There is something about being around people who show gratitude and saying thank you? Here’s how to be more thankful.
Glory to God
[1]“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23)!
There is something about being around people who show gratitude and saying thank you? Here’s how to be more thankful. To begin with, here’s how God views our thankfulness. The Psalms tell us, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23)! God seeks glory for Himself (Psalm 115:1; Isaiah 42:8, 48:11), and our giving thanks to God is seen as a sacrifice which glories Him. God is most pleased with us when we offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, even in the storms of life. To magnify means to make large, so join me in saying, “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with” (Psalm 69:30).
Contentment
There are two tents any of us will live under in our lives; one is the tent of contentment, and the other, the tent of discontent. Now which would be better to live in? The Apostle Paul had to learn contentment, but how do you do that? You go through lean, mean and difficult times to learn that our contentment doesn’t rest upon things or circumstances, but upon Jesus Christ. Paul never complained or said that h was “being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content” Phil 4:13). We learn contentment, not in times of plenty, but by “being in need.” Only then we discover our contentment is in Christ and in Him alone. Be thankful, not for what you have, but for Who you have (John 3:16). Therein lays your contentment. Things come and things go, but He abides in us forever. Be thankful that He never leaves us nor forsakes us, even when we do for a season.
The Hidden is Revealed
People in the Old Testament didn’t know as much about God as we do today. Some did, like the Prophets, Moses, and David, but now, in these last days, God has revealed Himself to us. I say that because when we see Jesus in Scripture, we have seen the Father, for they are both fully God, except Jesus is fully Man and fully God. How can you explain that? I’m from Kansas but I’m also an American citizen, so I am fully Kansan and fully American, but even that example falls short. After Jesus had sent out the disciples and their mission was apparently successful, the Lord Jesus Christ “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will” (Luke 10:21). The mystery of the Gospel is no longer a mystery, but God has “revealed them to little children.” Be thankful for your salvation and escaping the wrath of God which was placed upon Christ.
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Thankful Toward Others
Did you know you can make someone’s day by just saying, “Thank you?” It’s that easy. You can reverse their day. Being thankful to God is a good thing, but we must remember our fellow man or woman who has it hard outside of faith in Jesus Christ. They need an encouraging word too. I try to imitate what the Apostle Paul prayed for to the Philippian church. When I thank others in our church or in person, I like what Paul said, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you” (Phil 1:3). How would you feel if someone told you in private or public, “I thank God for you and remember you in my prayers?” I know I’d feel contented, and be grateful to them and to God. This is why it was Paul’s custom to say, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers” (1 Thess 1:2). May we be more like Paul who just couldn’t stop giving thanks to God for people, saying, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph 1:16). Are we like that?
Gratitude in Worship
[3]I pray regularly, but I also like to worship God in song, and sometimes, I sing and worship Him at the same time as laying out my prayer requests. Here is where we can thank God, not only in word and deed (Matt 25:35-36), but Paul says, we can “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16). There is some worship songs I love that make me pour out my heart to Him in thankfulness and gratitude. I know that when we are grateful and thankful, we are happier, and we are happier because are obeying God’s will which says, we are to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18). There is real power in gratitude. Pass it on.
Conclusion
I have seen the power of even a small, kind gesture. Thankfulness spawns gratitude, and gratitude will spawn gratitude. Give someone an encouraging word today. Be the salt…be the light (Matt 5:13-16). I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.
Here is some related reading for you: 5 Bible Lessons About Being Thankful [4]
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.