Thanksgiving-The Language of Faith
February 24, 2024 | 12:11 pm
Thank you is a universal language. It can be understood in any language. It can be through gestures or words. It is gratefully acknowledging benefits or favours received from others, and in this case, especially to God.
The spiritual person receives everything with thanksgiving because he knows he can have nothing except what he has received from God (John 3:27). The godless and wicked men, on the other hand, are marked by being thankless (Romans 1:21). To thank God in everything and for everything is faith in God for every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)
We can never go wrong with thanksgiving. Many of us desire to be in the will of God. We can begin by being thankful in every circumstance for that is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Hebrews 11:6 says that, “It is impossible to please God without faith.” We are thankful to the degree that we trust God and desire to please Him. This makes thanksgiving to God an act of faith that pleases Him.
So what makes it an act of faith? Firstly, thanksgiving brings us to our deliverance. In Jonah 2:9, Jonah, while in the whale’s stomach, stopped focusing on the darkness and his plight and lifted his eyes to thank God for His mercies. Soon after, the whale vomited him out. Our thanksgiving to God gets us from being self-centred into God-centeredness. This allows God to act in response to our faith.
Secondly, thanksgiving brings us to victory. In 2 Chronicles 20:21-23, King Jehoshaphat of Judah and his army are under attack. He calls Judah to fast and pray as they seek the Lord’s intervention. God told them not to be afraid but to set a praise band ahead of the army to praise as they marched into victory. God is a lover of praiseful and thankful people. Are you one?
Thirdly, thanksgiving completes our healing and forgiveness. In Luke 17:12-19, Jesus healed ten lepers. Yet only one Samaritan returned to thank Him for his healing. Jesus is recorded saying that his faith had made him whole. Thanksgiving is a faith language that God clearly understands and enables Him to complete what He started (Philippians 1:6).
Fourthly, it brings multiplication and satisfaction. Did you see how Jesus fed the 5000 men in Luke 9:12-17? He began by thanking the Father, and then he broke the bread and shared it. Paul in Acts 27:35-38, also receives the bread, thanks God for it and breaks it for the men. In both cases, the men ate until they were satisfied. How thankful are you?
Fifthly, it boosts our faith and that of our hearers. Did you know that King Saul sent an untrained teenager to the battlefield based on his victories against lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-37)? David convinced Saul that God would give him victory against Goliath. Thanksgiving is boasting about the doings of God. Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells us to boast about the doings of the Lord and not about our wisdom, strength or wealth. Have you boasted of God’s doings lately?
Sixthly, thanksgiving releases God’s peace into our hearts. It’s difficult to be thankful and angry. It is even harder to be truly thankful and anxious (Philippians 4:6-7). As we give thanks, we get a fresh perspective and petition heaven over our issues. Jesus promised in Matthew 11:28 to offer rest to those who come to Him. Won’t you come to Jesus with a thankful heart so He can give you rest?
Seventhly, it protects us from Satan’s lies. In Genesis 3, Satan focused on the lack instead of the abundance of God’s provision in Eden. Eve fell for it and the world has never been the same again. Today, he still does so. He makes us look and focus on that one thing we don’t have and capitalizes on it. Thanksgiving makes us disempower him and his schemes. How can he win over people who have focused not on their problems and circumstances but on the goodness and abundance of God?
So how do we cultivate a culture of thanksgiving? Since thanksgiving is a faith language, it is built by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Begin by praying everyday and develop a list of things to be grateful for as you pray. Look into God’s word for a daily refresher course on why God is so good. Hang out with people with whom you can share your victories and shortcomings with and develop a habit of sharing / boasting on what God has done for you.
Giving thanks is not a matter of feeling, it’s a matter of obedience to God’s word. As we thank God, we connect to His character trait of goodness (Psalm 136). The ungrateful deny who God is (Rom 1:21). Only those with faith can sincerely appreciate God, for it is a faith language after all!
Psalm 136:1-3
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Anne Odoyo