Thanksgiving: The Response To His Goodness : Bishop Tony Samuels
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, let us always remember to be thankful unto our God for His Goodness in our lives. Psalms 107:1 says, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. Notice, our giving thanks to God is because He is good and His mercy endures forever. Thanksgiving is the perfect response to His Goodness.
Thanksgiving means: the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God. So thanksgiving is not something you can just bottle up inside; it is an expression of our heart to God, that we acknowledge all the goodness He has shown toward us. For the Christian, thanksgiving isn’t optional; the Bible commands us to do it.
Look at Thessalonians 5:18: And in the midst of everything, be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus. Amazing… thanksgiving is supposed to be our unconditional response to life! We are not necessarily thanking God for the bad; we are thanking God even in the midst of the bad, because we know eventually His Goodness is going to show up. Thanksgiving keeps our expectation high, and the channel of faith and hope open, to receive His Goodness at any moment.
Thanksgiving also helps you to keep the right spiritual perspective. Sometimes we can focus on what we don’t have, and we miss what God has done and is doing currently in our lives. Thanksgiving brings balance to our faith, where we always remember where God has brought us from, and we are mindful of what He is doing currently; and this will boost our confidence that our future is going to be brighter than ever, because God dwells in our past, present, and future.
We are living in a time where society is becoming more unthankful. The Bible warns us about it in 2 Timothy 3:1-2: But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. People being unthankful is a sign of the end times. This is astounding! We have to be on guard that we don’t let our hearts be conditioned by the society around us, and purpose to cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving.
The key to thanksgiving is you must remember…you can never forget…what God has done for you. I leave you with Jeremiah 30:19: Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. This was the people’s response to the goodness of God, and His response to their response was that He poured out more of His goodness in their lives. So, today and every day, let’s be thankful to the Lord for His marvelous goodness that He pours out on us!
We Thank God For You,
