Give thanks

It’s been a tough year. The slump in the housing market. Massive fires in California. Fuel prices steadily increasing. The mounting death toll in Iraq. Sickness has touched you or someone that you care about. People that you love have died or moved away. It’s been a tough year for everybody. How then can we stand before God on Thanksgiving and honestly tell Him "thank You?" Thanks? Thanks for what?

Let’s start with the fact that you are alive today. God does not guarantee long life to anyone. During the past 24 hours, over 150,000 people worldwide have died from various causes; the fact that you are alive today is a gift from God, pure and simple.

God has surrounded your life with beauty. Think of the colors you can see, the music that surrounds you, the textures brushing against your skin, the smells that gladden your heart, the pleasures brought by taste. Your five senses are saturated with God’s gifts of beauty every day; there is so much beauty in your life that you often fail to notice it.

Your life has been blessed with people who care about you. This may include those related to you by birth, adoption, or marriage; it might also include friends that you’ve made over the years. But most importantly, Jesus loves you; Jesus loves you with such deep commitment that He allowed Himself to be put to death in your place, paying the penalty for your sins against God. Did He have to suffer and die for you? Have you done anything to deserve Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf? No. It is because of God’s undeserved mercy that you have the opportunity to exchange hell for heaven.

What do you have to be thankful for? Plenty! God has blessed you in ways beyond counting. Yet how often we fail to notice these gifts or appreciate them! It’s easy to overlook such simple things when we’re busy throwing ourselves a pity party. Did God promise us a lifetime of good health, a six-figure income, and loads of leisure time? Not at all. Does God owe us anything? Not at all. Everything that is good in our lives comes from Him, and they come as gifts, expressions of His unwarranted love for us.

It’s been a tough year. Nevertheless, if we stop with the self-pity and instead look carefully at all the wonderful things God has filled our lives with, it is evident that we have much to be thankful for. So tell your Lord how thankful you are; tell Him with your mouth and show Him with your life. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever (Psalm 106:1).