Ps. Danny

31st December 2011 

Psalm 92:1 says “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.”

The Bible says that it is a good thing to give thanks to God. And when we give thanks, two things follow, as described in verse 2 of Psalm 92 – we will see evidence of God’s lovingkindness and His faithfulness in our lives.

The opposite of thankfulness is not ungratefulness. The opposite of thankfulness is worrying. When we learn to thank God for the situations in our lives, we will stop worrying and start trusting Him to take care of situations that we cannot handle. Irrespective of how messy our lives are, there is always something that we can thank God for. And if our lives are really good, there is always some inadequacy in our lives that we can ask God to help with. 

The Bible commands us to thank God - why is it a command? It is not our natural tendency to thank God. Sometimes we need to push ourselves to do it. The Psalmist, in Psalm 103:1 is telling himself, to ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me’. We need a daily reminder to thank God and to bless His holy Name. 

We also like to take credit for good things that happen to us. Romans 1:21-22 says that when we do not glorify God as God, and if we are not thankful, we become foolish. We tend to build up vain imaginations about ourselves and we become filled with pride – and we become not wise, but foolish (see verse 23 also). 

Luke chapter 17 tells of how there were 10 lepers who were healed, yet only one came back to thank God. As a result of returning to thank God, that 1 leper received wholeness, which the others did not receive. There is power in thankfulness. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to give thanks in everything. The writer of this verse was Paul, who at the time of writing, was languishing in a dark prison cell. If Paul, in his prison cell, could think of things to thank God for, surely you and I can do so too. 

When we begin to thank God for everything, we naturally begin to pray without ceasing and we are filled with joy. Colossians 3:17 says that ‘whatever we do, we must do everything in Jesus’ name, giving thanks in all things.’ We must be aware of the fact that God destroyed the Israelite community even though He brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand – He destroyed them because He focuses on the simple things. We tend to major on the minor, and minor on the major. The Israelites in the dessert were upset over their food and their drink, instead of thanking God. Philippians 4:6 says with thanksgiving, we must let our supplication be known to God.  We know how to seek Him, but let us learn how to infuse our prayer with thankfulness. 

Our Lord Jesus, when He walked on this earth, thanked God continuously. In John 11:41, when He raised Lazarus from the grave, our Lord didn’t pray for this prayer to be answered. Instead He thanked God for answering His prayer. Some of our dreams and desires are dead and stinking. But if we thank God for them, we will see our situation being resurrected and coming back to life. In Luke 9:16-17 (NIV), in the incident of the five loaves and two fish, our Lord took the little bundle of food, gave thanks and then broke it into the number of pieces that they needed and gave it to the disciples. If we begin to thank God, even the little that we have, will be multiplied for His glory. 

How do we give thanks?

Giving thanks honours God. It releases us from anxiety. It makes us whole and fills us with peace and joy.