“… giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20).
We should come to God constantly with hearts filled with gratitude and thank Him for the many blessings He has given us.
I am very thankful to God for helping me to trust in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour at a very young age. And with all the sound doctrine and encouragement I received from my church, I had several opportunities to serve Christ and share His love with others.
Three persons mentioned in the Bible were thankful to God.
1) Abraham After rescuing Lot and his family and regaining all their possessions, Abraham expressed his gratitude to God by giving to Melchizedek a tenth of everything that he got from the war. Melchizedek was both king and priest and was respected by Abraham.
2) Hannah She desperately wanted a child. She prayed to God earnestly. God gave her Samuel and other sons. Hannah responded with deep gratitude and gave Samuel back to God to be His servant.
3) David He wrote many Psalms and shared how grateful he was to God. At his lowest point, after he had murdered Uriah and taken Uriah’s wife, he lost his first son from Bathsheba. He repented and returned to God, thanking Him for His forgiveness. Psalm 51 was his prayer of forgiveness.
To be grateful and thankful in all circumstances is God’s will. We will experience peace and joy. Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Life is less stressful when we can thank God in all situations, good or bad. We can count the blessings that God has given us. Without gratitude, life can be depressing and impoverished.
By the grace of God, He has helped me to be grateful. In fact. His sovereign will for us is to thank Him for His providence and protection.
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:18).
Eddy Oh