Giving Thanks for God’s Work
My exhortation to you is to give thanks to God for his work in your life.
It is a blessing to have a day set aside where our country explicitly tells us to give thanks. We see biblical authors giving frequent commands to the people of God to give thanks to God for who he is and what he has done. When we give thanks to God, we are acknowledging that we are not the source of the blessings in our lives. An example of this is Luke 17 when Jesus heals 10 lepers and then watches 9 of them go on their way with no acknowledgement or appreciation. And when the one returns, this is how Jesus responds, “’Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’”
The thankful leper receives a double-healing. All ten received the bodily healing. But only the thankful leper received the spiritual healing that comes through faith. His faith is put on display by his thankful actions toward Jesus.
But we see a counter example in Romans 1. Listen to Paul’s warning about people who willfully refused to honor God with gratitude, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” A proud man resists giving thanks, but a humble man willingly thanks God for all that he is and all that he has. To remain willfully ungrateful to God is a sin and God warns that those who fail to practice gratitude over time will become hardened to God and begin to love their sin.
God wants our gratitude, but it’s not because he needs us to be emotionally fulfilled. God is not like us, and he doesn’t need us to acknowledge or thank him because he lacks affirmation. God is fully content in himself and will continue to be so regardless of whether we act like the 9 ungrateful lepers or the 1 grateful one. So why is it a big deal to give thanks? Giving thanks is something that we do for our good. Giving thanks is the antidote for pride and the fuel for humility. Giving thanks acknowledges the correct order of giver and receiver, of sheep and shepherd, of gracious one and needy one.
So, spend some time specifically giving thanks to God this week for his work in your life.