Thanksgiving is right around the corner! If you are anything like me, you tend to spend more time than you should grumbling and complaining and not enough time in a spirit of thankfulness.
I hope these three sets of verses will help redirect your heart as they did mine.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Psalms 100:1-5 (NLT)
How does this Psalm describe God? How does it describe us? How does it describe our appropriate response to Him?
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalms 23:1-6 (NLT)
Why can we be thankful? When can we be thankful? What can we be thankful for?
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord. Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Psalms 105:1-6 (NLT)
Spend some time this morning considering how can you thank God for…
- Who He is.
- What He has done.
- The family He has given you.
- The friends He has given you.
- The things He has given you.
After you’ve spent some time on that, I have a challenge for you: write a thank-you letter to someone. Maybe it is a letter to God or your spouse, parents or children. Maybe it is a letter to a friend or a teacher or a neighbor. After you’ve written the letter, read it to the person you wrote it to. We don’t write letters much anymore…imagine how honored the person may feel to have one written to them!
Have a great thanksgiving!
I very much appreciated these verses
and liked what Kelly said about thanking
God in difficult times. His graceful hand is
everywhere and in everything and just asks
us to hold it through good and in trying times.
An amazing gift because God is always
about love. A long time ago, a mentor told
me to write a daily gratitude list. That little
excercise, all by itself, gifts me with a daily
reprieve from self and provides incredible
perspective. Happy Thanksgiving!
Such a good reminder to focus on having a grateful heart! With both the worship team this past week and my high school girl’s small group, we talked about not only the things that were easy to be thankful for, but the things in our life that it is most difficult to thank God for. Kind of like the song “Blessed Be Your Name” – give thanks when it is easy, and also when it is very hard. It is very powerful to praise Him for our problems and trials, and to remember that He is right there with us in the center of them and has a plan for our good.
Happy Thanksgiving!