In the Word – Thanksgiving
“O
give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for
ever. O give thanks unto the God of
gods: for his mercy endureth for
ever. O give thanks to the Lord of
lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his
mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalm 136:1-4. Thanksgiving
should be a holiday that Christians could celebrate every day. The Psalmist in the 136 Psalm gives us
several reasons to give thanks to the Lord.
The
first reason noted to give thanks is the fact that the Lord is good. The scriptures tell us over and over of the
Lord’s goodness. In the book of James
1:17, we are told that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning”. In the small
prophetic book of Nahum, the prophet wrote, “The LORD is good,
a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him”,
Nahum 1:7. It is no wonder why the
psalmist said, “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”, Psalm
107:8. We give thanks for the Lord’s
goodness.
Time
after time, God’s word instructs us to be thankful for all he has done and
continues to do for us. Verses such as
Ephesians 5:20, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”, Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God”, 1 Chronicles 16:8, “Give thanks unto the
Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people”, and Psalm
100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name”.
The
second reason we are given to give “thanks unto the Lord,” is that “his
mercy endureth for ever.”
It has been said that grace is getting something we didn’t deserve, and
mercy is not getting want we did deserve.
Thank God for His mercy. It is
because of God’s “abundant mercy” that we have hope in Christ. “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
the dead,” 1 Peter 1:3.
I
hope we all enter into the season of Thanksgiving with true thanksgiving in our
hearts for what God has done for us.
Elder
Tim White
Ider,
Alabama
