It is Good to Give Thanks

“It is good to give thanks to the LORD…” Psalm 92:1. As we make the run to Thanksgiving, I wanted to encourage you to think about a few things.

1) “It is good” means that you actually benefit from this activity. And “It is good” also means that it is fitting, as in it is appropriate that you would be a person who gives thanks to your Maker.

2) He is the Source of all things that you have ever enjoyed, and as such, He is worthy of your gratitude. Your best day, your best dreams, your favorite meal, all of the 10,000 delights you have had and just as many specific moments of goodness ALL came from Him. And as the effect is always less than the cause – if you have enjoyed a day at the beach, or health, or love – those good things came from a greater Good, God.

3) He has always been good to you. Even in all that is beyond your view (the things that God knows that no human on this side of heaven can know), God is good, always has been good and always will be good. While some things may be inscrutable at present, still, God has revealed His goodness, and we should thank Him for that.

4) What He has done in Christ to save people like us is a fixed reality that never changes, no matter how difficult our current circumstances are. So even while we may be drawn into bitter times, deep pain, inexpressible loss or agony, still, He is good. And the coming of Jesus to this earth to save us is the ultimate proof of it.

Things to pray for:

–  Vision. Ask the Father to help you – pray for the Lord’s help to see the inherent value of immeasurable blessings all through your life, and the value for you in being thankful.

–  Humility. Ask Jesus to help you see how you have been ungrateful. And then ask Him to forgive you and help you in your heart to grow to be genuinely thankful.

–  Gratitude. Give thanks to the Lord not merely for His gifts, but especially for His Person – for simply Who He is. Praise Him that He has made Himself known to you and thank Him for that ultimate gift.

–  Eagerness to share. One clear consequence of seeing God’s goodness to you is to want to pass it along to others. Ask the Lord to help you to be eager to share with others in whatever way you can – as an expression of thanks to HIM for how He has blessed you. 

Tim Rice
Lead Pastor & Director of Church Planting