Thankfulness

“I will thank Yahweh with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works.” (Psalms 9:1 HCSB)

What great things has God done for you? When was the last time you publicly declared the great things God has done for you? If you haven’t, why haven’t you? Is it because we take those things for granted? Or is it because you’re ashamed to talk about the greatness of God to others?

Here’s an idea. Let’s start right now telling others, publicly, about how good God has been to us. Why don’t we make a list of things we’re thankful for? Here’s my list:

I thank God because:

1. He loved me so much that, despite the fact that I was selfish, self-centered, evil, and rebellious man, God never stopped loving me. In fact, He loved me so much, that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to suffer the full measure of His wrath for the forgiveness of my sins. Jesus died on the cross to satisfy God’s requirement for the forgiveness of sin because I could never be good enough to save myself. He, then, rose again from the dead in order to assure us eternal life in heaven with Him. God, through the Apostle Paul, said, “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! (Romans 5:8-10 HCSB).”

2. He created me in His image and through that gave me unimaginable worth. This is a worth that is unimaginably greater than any worth mere humans can put on my life. God’s Word says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female (Genesis 1:26-27 HCSB).”

3. He created me to be a part of His family. God, through the Apostle John, said, “But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12 HCSB).” And because I’m now part of His family I’m an heir to His kingdom along with Jesus. God reminds us of this through the Apostle Paul, saying, “The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and coheirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:16-17 HCSB).”

4. He is all about family and has given me a great family. My wife, Jami; my son, Gabe; my son, Grant; my stepdaughter, Amanda; my stepson, Mark, and his wife, Heather; and my step-granddaughter, Fiona (Mark and Heather’ daughter). They are all a great blessing to me and I love them all, with all my heart.

5. He created me for an abundant life and a purpose so much greater than this world could possible offer me. He, trough the Apostle Paul, said, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 HCSB).” He also said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance (John 10:9-10 HCSB)

My list could go on forever. Therefore, I will…

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For Yahweh is good, and His love is eternal; His faithfulness endures through all generations (Psalms 100:4-5 HCSB).”

How about you?