WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE THANKFUL?

Colossians 4:2 (NIV)
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

               As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we are reminded that we ought to be thankful. But what does that really mean? Most people don’t really take thankfulness seriously. Their thanks are superficial at best. Saying thank you has become a courtesy with little substance behind it. So, what does it mean for us to be genuinely thankful.

               It begins by being intentional about recognizing the blessings we have received. Not only do we take so many things for granted, we often see them as our right. Rather than being thankful, we presume upon the blessings we have received. For us to be truly thankful, we need to consciously recognize and name our blessings. Like the old hymn says, count your blessings, name them one by one.

               Let’s name just a few of the blessing many of us take for granted. I have never truly gone hungry. Throughout my life there has always been food on the table. I know that is not true for everyone, but it is for the vast majority of us. I have never not had clothes to wear. I may not have had the latest fashions or the best brands, but I have always had clothes to wear. In fact, I have more clothes than I actually need. Most of us have a closet filled with clothes at our disposal. I have never been homeless. From the time I was born until this day I have had a place to call home. There are homeless people in our world, but most of us do not live among us. All of these things and more are blessings from God that we take for granted.

               I think the second thing we need to do to be truly thankful is to value our blessings. We live in a society that devalues what we have and over values what we do not have. The cell phone in our pocket is never good enough. The car we drive is never good enough. The home we live in is never good enough. Instead of valuing our blessings, we tend to demean them.

               The Apostle Paul took a very different view. He said that the foundation for a truly thankful life is contentment. True contentment is enjoying and celebrating what we have, not obsessing with what we do not have. Look at what Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

               We can be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, if we get our eyes off of what we do not have and onto the blessings the Lord has already provided.

               That leads me to the last component of being truly thankful. We need to acknowledge to whom we are giving thanks. For most people, thankfulness floats in a vacuum. They know that they should be thankful, and them may even feel thankful, but they don’t focus on to whom they should give thanks.

               Twenty times in the book of Psalms we are commanded to give thanks to the Lord. As James has said, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (NIV) Every blessing that we receive comes from the hand of God. He has done this because of His everlasting love for us. His desire is to fill our lives with good things. He doesn’t do this because we somehow deserve these blessings. He does it out of His mercy and grace toward us. The Psalmist put this in perspective for us in Psalm 103.

Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV)
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalms 103:13-18 (NIV)
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

               As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we can just go through the motions, or we can be intentionally and genuinely thankful. If we are going to be truly thankful there are at least three things we need to do. Intentionally acknowledge and celebrate all of the blessings we have received. Give those blessings the value that they deserve. And express our thanks to the one who is the author of every blessing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.