Being Thankful

With Thanksgiving coming up, I am reminded of God's goodness to me. My daily devotion today is on just that; Giving thanks to God.

I have so many reasons for being thankful to God. He has done so many wonderful things for me. Even if He didn’t do anything here on earth for me, The assurance of my salvation is good enough. Knowing that because of what He did for me on the cross has provided me a place in heaven if I except Him as my Lord and Savior is a good enough reason to give Him many thanks. Giving thanks to God is not an optional thing for the Christian. I am thankful to God for His love, care for me, and His provision.

I have many reasons for giving thanks to God but the scriptures gives many reasons why I should be thankful to God.

Here is a partial list from the Bible:

God's offer of salvation:

Psalms 50:23, 106:47, 118:21, 142:7, Jonah 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14. 4:15, 9:15, Colossians 1:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 God's works and deeds:
1 Chronicles 16:8, Psalms 26:7, 75:1, 105:1, 107:22, 139:14, Isaiah 12:4, 25:1, Revelation 11:17

God's help for us:

Psalms 28:7, 107:8, 15, 21, 31, Daniel 2:23, Romans 1:8, 6:17, 1 Corinthians 1:4, 2 Corinthians 9:11, 12, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 3:9, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Timothy 1:12

God's character: (goodness, loving kindness, righteousness, truth, and faithfulness)

1 Chronicles 16:34, 35, 41, 2 Chronicles 20:21, Jeremiah 33:11, Ezra 3:11, Psalms 7:17, 52:9, 106:1, 107:1 8, 15, 21, 31, 118:1, 29, 119:7, 136:1, 2, 3, 26, 138:2, Isaiah 25:1, 38:18, 19

For believers thankfulness should flow naturally out of our mouths. Jesus suffered the penalty for what He did not deserve (all my sin), then freely offered to me the reward (eternal life) that I did not deserve. What an awesome God!


My goal is to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. I want to be more Christ like. As a model for us, Jesus often gave thanks for food and answered prayer.
The Bible does tell us to give thanks in everything. I often complain to God about all the bad things that have happened to me - things I did not deserve, and definitely did not want. How can I be thankful for everything? I need to first remember I have a God that answers prayer, I should never be anxious about any situation. Second, although things may seem to be bad, I am told that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Some examples of how God uses "bad" things in our lives can be seen from my personal story about Joshua, my husband's brain tumor and even more recent, my battle with cancer. God used and is using this to work in our lives to better serve Him.


Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.