In
everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Praise the LORD! Oh
give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 106:1
It is God’s perfect will for us to give Him thanks. When we do this, we align ourselves with His
purposes. We have so much to thank God
for. Foremost on this list is the fact
that He sent Jesus to die in our place.
His sacrifice bought our salvation and with it untold blessings
besides.
I am reminded of the time that Jesus prayed for ten lepers (Luke
17:11-19).
As
Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and
Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a
distance, crying
out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
He
looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their
leprosy.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus,
shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him
for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other
nine? Has
no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the
man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
All ten were told to go to the priests to be ceremonially declared
clean. As they went, they were cleansed from their leprosy
but only one returned to give thanks. It’s
possible that when he returned, he was not only cleansed of his disease, he was
healed from the debilitating effects of it, which means that if he had lost
fingers or toes or any other body part these were restored.
At the very least, the man’s thankful return to Jesus enabled
him to know the Savior in a deeper way then the other nine.
When we give thanks from a genuinely grateful heart, God blesses
us in ways He wouldn’t have if we remained silent.
Let’s not just celebrate Thanksgiving one day of the year, let’s
make thanksgiving our lifestyle.Thank
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