Personally, I can think of a long list of reasons that I am thankful to God. Perhaps you can as well. On the other hand, I know that there are some people who feel they have no reason to be thankful to God. At least that’s what they say. So why should we give thanks to God and praise Him?
In the book of Psalms, the writer was inspired to pen the following words: “Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). Note, that these reasons have nothing to do with what God has or has not done for us. Rather, they have to do with His character. So let’s quickly consider each of them:
The Lord is good. The Bible says that all good and perfect gifts come from the Father above (James 1:17). I know that’s not everybody’s view because not everybody believes what the Bible says. But that is God’s assessment of Himself, and I am sticking with His report. I can think of some things I would like to change in my life or I would like to be different. But for every one of these, I can think of several ways in which God has shown me His goodness. Too often we allow the former to blind us to the latter.God’s love endures forever. I have lost count of how many times I am sure I have failed or disappointed God. But the awesome thing about love is that when it is true, it is unconditional. God’s love is just like that. Even when we fail Him, we can be sure that nothing has changed between us. Now that is truly something to thank God for and to praise Him!
God’s faithfulness continues through all generations. Throughout the Old Testament, God took care of the Israelites because they were His chosen people. Even during their 40 years in the wilderness He fed them daily and their clothes never wore out. What the psalmist reveals in the aforementioned verse is that God’s faithfulness did not cease to exist after biblical times, but it will last throughout all generations. That means we can trust His promises—today and tomorrow.I have no idea of who I am talking to through this post. Perhaps at this time, life is so good to you that you feel things could not be better. Or perhaps it’s on the other extreme. But whether you find yourself at either of these extremes or somewhere in between, the Bible calls on each of us to be thankful and to praise God for the reasons stated above.
Copyright © 2013 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
