Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Giving great thanks for great things of God

I did a search for "thank" at Bible Gateway. Here are some off the results I came up with. I was specifically searching for verses & passages that show great displays of thanks by people of God, or great things God has done for His people that were worthy of gratitude:
  • "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (1 Chronicles 16:34:34; God's enduring "steadfast love", see also: 16:41; 2 Chron. 5:13, 7:3, 7:6, 20:21; Ezra 3:11, Ps. 106:1, 118:1, 118:29, throughout Ps. 136, 138:2, Jeremiah 33:11).
  • "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds" (Psalm 9:1; "all your wondrous deeds" or the like also at: Ps. 26:7, Ps. 75:1, 2 Cor. 9:15, with out "whole heart" also at: 86:12, 111:1, 138:1).
  • "11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
       you have loosed my sackcloth
       and clothed me with gladness,
    12that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
       O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" (Ps. 30:11-12; thanking God always, forever, continually, etc., including for all things., also at: 44:8, 52:9, 79:13, 106:1, 1 Corinthians 1:4, Ephesians 1:16, 5:20, Colossians 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, 5:18, 2 Thess 1:3, 2:13, Revelation 7:12  .
  • "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!" (Ps. 100:4
  • Thanks for God's "steadfast love" and "wondrous works" throughout Ps. 107 (verses 1, 8, 15, 21, 31)
  • "I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD" (giving thanks sacrificially also in: Ps. 116:17. In Daniel 6:6-10, King Darius signs a decree stating that if anybody petitions any god or man besides him for the next 30 days, that person will be cast into the lion's den. Verse 10: "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously." Amos 4:5, 1 Cor. 11:24).
  • "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere" (2 Cor. 2:14).
  • "For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God" (2 Cor. 9:12; see also Col. 2:7b).
  • "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). 
  • "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).
I know that the above verses only show the tip of what the Bible says about giving thanks (how, and for what), but these verses alone make it abundantly clear about what to be thankful for:
  • God's steadfast, enduring love 
  • all of God's wondrous/wonderful deeds
  • our triumph in Him
  • God's upcoming responses to our prayers (regardless of what they are, since He knows what's best for His glory & our edification)
and how we should express our thanks:
  • with our whole heart
  • sacrificially
  • dancing, singing, etc.
  • always, forever, continually
  • in all things
  • entering His presence with thanksgiving
  • overflowing thanks (in other words, not forced, but streaming forth because of overwhelming gratitude)
  • our prayers always having an underpinning of thanksgiving
  • doing everything with an attitude of thanksgiving
I realize how far short I've come in being a thankful person, and realizing how much I have to be thankful for. May this help me & maybe a few others have the best Thanksgiving ever (this Thursday, and having a heart of thanksgiving every day).