Give Thanks to the Lord!
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” (Psalm 105:1)
This week, people across our country will gather for worship (hopefully) and for Thanksgiving feasts. People often think of Thanksgiving as an opportunity to spend time with family, enjoy good food, watch a little football and make sure we utter a few words of thanks.
Scripture reminds us we are to give thanks all the time and in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Scripture gives us guidance and suggestions on practical ways to give thanks in various situations in life.
Have you considered how you will give thanks in the days, weeks and months after Thanksgiving? Take a moment to reread today’s verse of Scripture and ponder it.
Did you notice what the Psalmist says after he encourages us to give thanks?
“Call on his name.”
If we are going to properly thank God, we must first call on his name. In other words, we should get to know him through his Word, the Bible. Then, we can call on him or worship and praise him. The first way to properly give thanks is to know where every blessing we have comes from (God) and to properly acknowledge him as the source of all (Psalm 24:1).
The Psalmist gives us a very practical way to make our thanks known, “make known among the nations what he has done.” This applies to us as we give thanks to our God and let other people know who our God is and what he does. Think of how you can make God known through your words and actions. In each of those and many other situations, we have the ongoing privilege and opportunity to give thanks to God as we share Christ and his love.
A blessed Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Prayer: Gracious God, we owe you a debt of thanks not just today, but every moment of every day of our lives. Lead us to give you thanks in every time and circumstance of our lives as we recognize you are always working out things for our good. Help us to show our thanks as we actively look for ways to make you known to others around us. Receive our humble thanks for your grace and all you give us as we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.