Give Thanks, Always

23 Nov Give Thanks, Always

It’s that time of the year again. The leaves are falling, the temperature dropping and the light disappears earlier in the afternoon. It’s time again for another triple holiday: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are here again.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday time. A time when we reflect on the nations history and remember the grace of God upon our forefathers that sacrificed so much to come to this new land to establish a place for us to worship.

Thanksgiving, a time to gather around the family table with uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces enjoying the bounty of God’s good grace toward us for another year. It’s there that we renew the bond of family ties and where old familiar stories are retold and laughed about. And it’s at those family tables where purpose is redefined, vision is enlarged and where the nations foundation is strengthened and guaranteed.

Many of us are familiar with that snap shot of Thanksgiving Day. After all, over 44 million of us are on the road, the rails or in the air somewhere doing just that.

“To grandmas house we go.”

But what is the view from God’s side? What does He have to say to us about being thankful and how does it affect our daily life and health?

One of the first scriptures that come to my mind is:

Psalm 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”

Actually that verse is one of the platforms of truth in the divine healing lessons that we teach. How can one have a merry heart without having a thankful heart?

When a brother in the Lord that I know was diagnosed with a deadly sickness, his doctor listed all of the steps to recovery that he was going to use. Among them the doctor directed the brother to watch a funny movie everyday so that he could laugh out loud. A merry heart does do good like a medicine, within a matter of months he was totally cured.

The scripture repeatedly tells me to be thankful, and then warns me what the results are to those who are unthankful.

Paul, in his letter to his son Timothy includes the giving of thanks among the heavy weights of supplications, prayers and intercession (I Timothy 2:1).

Colossians 3:17 tells us that the giving of thanks must be mixed in with everything that we do and say.

Ephesians then goes as far as to say that we should “give thanks always for all things” (Ephesians 5:20).

However, herein lies the key:

A merry heart and thanksgiving are not just other words for a positive outlook or a “stiff upper lip” attitude. Giving of thanks is to be directed to the One who makes it all possible. To the One who has created us and who has a wonderful plan in mind for us to have a successful and full life.

Colossians 1:12 declares that we are “to give thanks unto the Father who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints in the light” (amp).

Then Ephesians 5:4 sets the standard for what thanksgiving is by showing us what it is not. “Let no obscenity, indecency, silly or corrupt talk or course jesting which is not fitting or becoming, but instead voice your thanksgiving to God.”

My prayer for you today is that you also will have a thankful heart as we celebrate this national day of remembering God’s favor on us as a people. In doing so I know that the favor of God will continue to bring you and your family health and prosperity through this coming year.

Remember that David tells us in Psalm 100 that we enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.

It’s the KEY TO EVERY GOOD THING!

Be blessed in all that you do,

– George Watkins