"Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is Good..."

Although Thanksgiving Day is dedicated to pausing everything in life to give thanks for all our blessings, life is more abundant when we express gratitude daily. Unfortunately, our culture has the opposite attitude, an attitude of entitlement that plagues not only the youth but also adults. It manifests itself in numerous ways, but the most outrageous and horrific is pursuing political issues as rights.

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Abortion and gender issues have become “human rights” issues. People claim that they are entitled to abort babies or change their gender because they have unalienable rights. I’m not sure where such rights come from, but that’s not something they think about. When people are utterly ungrateful, they believe they have rights that cannot be violated; they don’t care to explain where these rights come from, nor do they express any recognition of the source.

All they know is that the life they lead is their own, and no one can limit their untethered desire to violate the laws of God. Entitlement is in direct opposition to Thanksgiving. From the very breath in our lungs to the birds that sing of his glory, we owe our praise and thanks to the One whose love endures forever.

If we are entitled to anything, it is separation from his eternal and holy presence, but thanks be to God that we are drawn to our Father through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The work of Christ on our behalf humbles us even in our darkest days and lifts our gaze toward heaven in gratitude. As long as the breath of life is within us, it is a reason to be thankful and praise the Lord our God, but many of us have countless more reasons to be grateful for.

Through his common grace, God provides us with health, food, shelter, family, and so much more, but more importantly, it is through his special grace that we are “…sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30) by the Holy Spirit of God. This Thanksgiving Day, may we thank and praise him for the goodness in this life and the hope of eternal life to come. It’s difficult not to have anything to be thankful for because we have the past, present, and future, all full of reasons to give God the glory.

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Psalm 136 is an incredible passage of praise and gratitude for God’s goodness; it is a beautiful reminder that all things good in life are because of God’s everlasting love.

Psalm 136

1  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

2  Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

3  Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

4  to him who alone does great wonders,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

5  to him who by understanding made the heavens,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

6  to him who spread out the earth above the waters,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

7  to him who made the great lights,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

8  the sun to rule over the day,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

9  the moon and stars to rule over the night,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

10  to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

11  and brought Israel out from among them,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

12  with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

13  to him who divided the Red Sea in two,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

14  and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

15  but overthrew¹ Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

16  to him who led his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

17  to him who struck down great kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

18  and killed mighty kings,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

19  Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

20  and Og, king of Bashan,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

21  and gave their land as a heritage,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

22  a heritage to Israel his servant,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

23  It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

24  and rescued us from our foes,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

25  he who gives food to all flesh,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

26  Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

These verses can go on forever because that’s how many reasons we have to thank God. As for me, I’m thankful for the readership of my newsletter. May the God of abundance give you peace and joy this Thanksgiving.

Here is a song that goes well with the above passage.

Ask yourself: What am I thankful for?

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