"Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High" (Ps. 50:24).
You remember the story recorded in Luke 17:17 how Jesus entered a village when ten lepers from afar off cried out to be healed. Jesus did not immediately heal them, but sent them to show themselves to the priests. As they acted in faith upon His commission, they discovered that on their way they were healed. One of them, a Samaritan turned back and gave thanks. The other nine did not bother. It is hard to understand why nine out of ten victims, suddenly healed, would not even bother to say, thank you. But how is it with us? Have any of us daily considered how much we have to be thankful for?
Let us not be like the unthankful nine, whose hearts were untouched by the mercy of God. As we give thanks today let us duly consider how much we have to be thankful for.
In one of the churches in Ireland, they were having a Thanksgiving program. The parents of a young man who was killed in the World War had given their church a cheque for two hundred dollars as a memorial of their loved one. When the presentation was made, another war mother whispered to her husband, "Let us give the same for our boy." The father said, "Why? What are you talking about? Our boy did not lose his life." The mother said, "That's just the point. Let us give thanks because he didn't."
In the midst of the storm, when the storm-battered vessel was plunging at its four anchors off the coast of Malta, Paul gave thanks to God in presence of them all (Acts 27:35). He could do that because he had faith in the Word and promise God had given him.
Paul's reasons for gratitude to God cover the whole territory of human life and experience. He gives thanks for:
- His daily bread (Acts 27:35)·
- Men who have faith in Christ (Rom. 1:8)
- Deliverance from anxiety (2 Cor. 2:14)
- Deliverance from temptation (Rom. 7:25)
- The memory of his friends (Phil. 1:3)
- Kindness in the day of trouble (Acts 28:15)
- The unspeakable gifts (2 Cor. 9:15)
"In the darkest days of my life, I thank God the light was in it and my life was worth living," said a Christian leader.
Before we do anything else, I think we should first thank God that we have come thus far with no serious trouble and that we have enough strength left to finish our life's journey.
Give thanks to God for victories won! Sing praises for all His wonderful gifts. May we never become calloused so that we fail to show thanks to our Father in heaven for His tokens of love. Let us stop in our busy-round-of-life and give thanks to our Father for His rich blessings.
The true meaning of Thanksgiving is:
T: Trusting
H: Heartily
A: Almighty
N: Note-Worthy
K: Kindness
S: Selflessly
G: Gifts
I: Investing
V: Voluntarily
I: Individual
N: Nurturing
G: God's Word
Dear shepherdesses our prayer may be like this, "Our Father, thou has given us so much, please give us one more thing—a thanksgiving heart."
