August 9 -Thankfulness

Psalm 100:4 – "Enter [God's] gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

      I have been to many group meetings, whose sole purpose was to have folks talk about that for which they were thankful. During those meetings, many good things in life were put forth, with the speaker stating that he or she was grateful or thankful for these things. I would put forth, however, that thankfulness cannot be a state of mind. If I was grateful that I had money to buy fuel to keep my house warm in the winter, it would actually mean that I was glad that I had a warm house. "Being" grateful is really only being glad. In order to really "be" thankful, one has to actually thank someone. One cannot thank inanimate objects or animals, because they cannot do things for humans out of a free will (dogs may be an exception, but you get the point). Thankfulness is not a state of being; it is the act of thanking someone for something that a person did for you.

      If I earn the ability to be comfortable and happy, then no thanks is necessary. I did it on my own. However, we all know that not everything we have in life was earned by the sweat of our brows. All of us enjoy blessings, wealth, health, happiness, etc. because it was given to us - through many avenues. The ultimate giver is God who gives every day without us blinking an eye. Consider: Acts 17:28 - "For in [God] we live and move and have our being." As mentioned in the opening Bible verse, we should thank God for all the good things in our lives, every day. James 1:17 states that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights..." Deuteronomy 8:17, 18 - "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Eternal One your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth...." Therefore, we should thank God continually for these good things. I Thess. 5:18 also says to give thanks in all circumstances. Even Jesus specifically gave thanks to the Father. Check out John 11:41; Matthew 15:36; Mark 14:41; Luke 22:17f; and Luke 24:30. There are numerous other verses that command us to thank God for what he has done for us.

      Don't just be glad for your blessings. Thank God on purpose for them.