BE THANKFUL

“Be thankful (“Cultivate thankfulness”, The Message). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15-17)

Cultivate thankfulness. Practice giving thanks. Count your blessings rather than complain. As you are nourished by the word of Christ and worship in song you will be filled with gratitude in your heart. Worship and witness should be characterized by thanksgiving. “Father, I thank you that you have heard me,” (John 11:41) Jesus prayed. What a blessing to know that you are heard. “We always thank God for all of you,” (1 Thess.1:2) Paul prayed. What a blessing to have a family of faith.

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you… You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:10,17,18).

Thanksgiving is the result of an awareness of our gifts from God for “from him and through and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). We are totally dependent on God who “gives to all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25). We are a privileged people. The median income in the USA is $53,894, i.e. $147 a day. Compare that with nearly 3 billion people – half the world’s population – live on less than $2.00 a day.

What is the motivation for thanksgiving? What causes thanksgiving? How can we cultivate thanksgiving?

A Jewish Passover Prayer indicates the inadequacy of our thanksgiving:

“Even if our mouths were filled with songs like the sea, our tongues with joy like its mighty waves, our lips with praise like the breadth of the sky, if our eyes shone like the sun and the moon, and our hands were spread out like the eagles of heaven, if our feet were as swift as the hind, we should still be incapable of thanking you adequately for one thousandth part of all the love you have shown us.”

The hymn “Now Thank We All Our God” was written by Martin Rinkart (1586-1649). His hymn has been called the German Te Deum and is considered by many as second only among German hymns to Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Rinkart was minister of the Gospel in Eilenburg during the terrible Thirty Years’ War. Eilenburg was a walled town and therefore a place of refuge for thousands who lost everything in the war. The overcrowded condition of the city brought on famine and pestilence. At times Rinkart was the only minister in the city. To serve thousands suffering from hunger and dying from disease was a Herculean task. Often he read the burial service for from forty to fifty persons a day. At last the number of dead each day was so great that it became impossible to bury them singly, and they were interred in groups in trenches. Altogether 8,000 people died in Eilenburg during this time, including Rinkart’s wife. At the same time Rinkart suffered several financial losses and failed to receive the proper consideration at the hands of the city authorities in spite of his unselfish and tireless efforts on behalf of the sick and dying. And yet he wrote during this time that wonderful hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.

How can you be thankful in the midst of such sorrow and suffering? How can you cultivate thanksgiving when you or your loved ones are in pain and depressed? Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:20-22). Our sorrow and suffering is for a season, but it will pass and, as with the birth of a baby, will produce great joy and thanksgiving. The living hope of a heavenly inheritance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead enables us to “greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief” (1 Peter 1:6). Thanksgiving is perfected in heaven.

Every Sunday during my childhood, with the rest of my home congregation, I would join in praying this General Thanksgiving:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks

For all your goodness and loving kindness to us and all whom you have made.

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life;

But above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives,

By giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord,

To whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.