There's Goodness In Giving Thanks

Most children when being raised are told that it is good for them to say thank you when they are given something or something has been done for them. When we get older, we might find ourselves a bit displeased when someone fails to say thank you to us.

Despite what Satan or society might tell us, God has done, and continues to do, very much for us. We should find ourselves thanking God everyday.

One of the great moral attributes of God is that He is merciful. Despite our sin, He offers His salvation to us through the finished work of Christ (Messiah). While a few do surrender to Him, most neglect His loving provision. Regardless, God is still thankworthy.

In the early 1980s Dorcas and I received a special assignment from a denomination we were then members of to somewhat take control of a church where they felt the pastor and about half of the congregation were going just a tad haywire. Those were the days of the cultist Jim Jones, and a particular half of the congregation we were sent to had me wondering if they were not akin to him.

In many Pentecostal churches the pastor often calls the congregation up to the altar area for a time of prayer, and then goes about praying for each one at the altar.

In that church there was much tension. Half wanted me and the other half wanted the other pastor. One evening I felt led to pray for those up at the altar, one by one. I came to one young man that was of the group that was adverse towards me being the pastor. I laid my hands on his shoulders, which is a common procedure in our churches, and prayed for him. When I was finished, he lifted his head, opened his eyes, and thanked me.

That felt good, and I will not forget that kindness. God, too, enjoys our praises and desires them. While God really needs nothing, He so designed us to be creatures of fellowship. However, true satisfaction in this realm comes when we enjoy fellowship with God through Christ. This is the desire of His heart, and what really pleases Him.

In Psalm 92:1 it is written, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:"

While our thanks to Him pleases God, it does something to us. I personally sense a cleansing and the richness of His merciful love when I give thanks.

If you have not thanked God today, why not stop and do so now? He, indeed, is most worthy of it, and you will be blessed.

We can always give thanks for who God is. We can also ask God to help us realize any hidden blessings after we have gone through trouble. What has helped me during those times is to realize things could have been worse.

At times it is very difficult to give thanks, but as we follow through, we will enter into His presence, and find that giving thanks unto Him is indeed good.