How We Give Thanks

“Let’s go around the table and have everyone say something you’re thankful for!”

If only you could have heard the audible groans at last year’s Friendsgiving (friends celebrating Thanksgiving) when I blurted this out loud. Either because my friends felt sorry for me or because I’m so convincing, they eventually obliged. And despite the initial awkwardness and some cheesy jokes thrown in to break the ice, it was a pretty cool moment. There in a crowded dining room of families with a messy playroom full of kids, God reminded us that despite the chaos, gratitude often ushers in God’s holiness.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
—Philippians 4:4

I’ve always had a tendency to want to control things (if you haven’t already picked up on that), so rejoicing is definitely not my first response to the struggles of daily life. But I’m learning that instead of my inclinations to jump to worry or control, the good stuff happens in what God calls me to do instead. We are to pray, give thanks, and present our requests to God (v.6). Things don’t have to be perfect for us to rejoice, and all does not have to be well to thank God for who He is and what He has done.

Today’s reading reminds us that we can give thanks for everything! Not just the good and easy stuff—but also the tough things that we know God will reveal Himself through. I love how in Ezra 3 we see the builders of the temple stop their work to sing to God with praise and thanksgiving. They didn’t rejoice because the template was complete. They rejoiced because the foundation was laid and the work had begun (Ezra 3:11)!

Do I thank the Lord for my progress? Do I stop to praise Him when there is still work left to be done? Or do I fail to recognize even the small ways that He is faithful? Am I making a practice of giving thanks to God the Father for everything? Or do I regularly complain to anyone who will listen about the details and difficulties of my life that I wish He would fix?

Rejoicing always sounds like a great idea in theory. But it takes commitment and a closeness to God to actually live it out and put it into practice. Thankfulness is about so much more than just a quick prayer we say before we start our day. True, biblical thankfulness is a practice and a lifestyle. It’s a way of life.

Lord, I want to follow after you with thankfulness and rejoicing. Help me to praise you in the process of what you’re doing, even when I don’t always understand. Thank you, Lord, for who you are, what you have done, and all that You will do!