Main Text
Psalms 118:1-29
Watchword
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV
Thankfulness will become our habit when trust in God is an habit. Thankfulness and trust are bound together. If you are trusting God, you are thankful. If you are grumbling, you are not trusting and if you are not trusting, you are not thankful. Develop a habit of trusting God, especially in trials, and you will thank Him both for His great salvation and for the opportunity to see Him work in your time of need. The outburst of praise and thanks to God would help renew our hearts and minds and will prompt humility and repentance, because humble and repentant people are those that God could work with. (Hebrews 4:16).
As children, we are taught that showing gratitude is part of being polite, civil and well-mannered, and vital if we are to be well-liked and have strong friendships. Giving thanks is important because it is an act of service, a way of making others feel special, and needed, and loved. Does God need our thanks and praise to feel important, or powerful, or to give His existence purpose or meaning? Of course not, God does not command gratitude for self-affirmation or self-aggrandizement. He does not need thanks from you or me to experience happiness or contentment, or to be impelled to give more or to function as God or creator. (2 Timothy 1:9).
God commands gratitude because displaying godly gratitude develops humility and contrition, two qualities of character we must possess if God is to fulfill His will and work in our lives! (Isaiah 66:2). Giving thanks is not all about singing a few worship and praise songs and think that you have given thanks to the Lord. God’s will for me is to be the kind of person who rejoices a lot, in fact, in every circumstance, and to be someone who abides in communion with God, in whose presence where there is fullness of joy. (Psalms 16:11)
Confession
Heavenly Father, I humbly come before you with a grateful heart, praising you with all my being, you are more than I deserve, more than I could ask for because you are with me always, in all circumstances.
Prayer
Oh Lord, help me to set my eyes and heart on you afresh as my heart is filled with gratitude. Amen.
Additional Reading
Hebrews 13:15
Isaiah 26:3.