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“In everything give thanks” is God’s exhortation to us.1 And of course all through the Psalms we find the exhortation to give thanks to the Lord. We are told to make petition with thanksgiving 2 And we are exhorted “to teach and admonish one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” 3 The sacrifices that David and the priests and people of God made before the Ark of the Covenant were the same – sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. 4 The Lord wants us to ”continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His Name.” 5 But, unfortunately, most of us get caught up in the “daily” of life and the things of this world and forget to continually lift our hearts and lips in thanksgiving. Is there hope for us who are not in the “habit”? Indeed there is. How does one form a habit? By willful effort and experience. It takes time. Thanksgiving can be nurtured and a habit developed that will accomplish God’s will. Giving thanks in all things is His will. 6 Where do you start? Here’s a simple exercise that will get you started on your way to a lifestyle of thanksgiving. Set aside 20 minutes and determine to do nothing but to give thanks to the Lord. You may think that’s a long time to just give thanks. So here’s a suggestion to help you. Besides thanking the Lord for the obvious blessings, use thanksgiving regarding things on your heart. An example of this is “Lord, I thank You that You are sovereign over the decision that will be made tomorrow. I thank You that You already know what is best and that You will direct my heart in the way I am to go.” Another example is “Lord, thank You that You know my brother and his needs and are committed to his sanctification. Thank You that you are faithful and will draw him to Yourself. Perhaps as you get started in your time of thanksgiving you may find it an “exercise.” But as you progress and truly get caught up in thanking Him, you will find Him aiding you by His Spirit. He will enable you to realize that you are sitting with a living Person and thanking a present Person. At that point, you will find yourself thanking because you are aware of His presence and are caught up in His goodness. The offering of thanksgiving you started as a gift to Him becomes a gift to you. You are lifted and encouraged. As you regularly practice these times of thanksgiving, you will develop habits of thinking and responding with a thankful attitude. So how often is regular? The more you practice, the better. Perhaps you could start with a weekly time, and then move to twice weekly and so forth. And if 20 minutes is too long, you could start with 15. Keep a journal of your times and record how the Lord met you as you approached His throne with thankfulness. As you develop this thanksgiving habit, you will find yourself giving offerings all day long for short periods as you have 5 or 10 minutes to yourself, or even as you have only a moment to direct your heart to Him. Let us continually offer up to Him sacrifice of praise, fruit of lips
that give thanks to His name.
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