Blessed are the Thankful

Believe it or not, you have much to be thankful for today. Take a moment to look back over your life.

You and I came into this world helpless and ignorant. Since that time, we have learned to read and to care for ourselves and for others. We have acquired experience, knowledge, possessions, relationships, skills, and some wisdom. And we still have the opportunity to gain more.

Are you thankful?

Strange as it may seem, many people are not — because they don’t know God as they could and should.

God’s Word, the Bible, tells us: “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be … unthankful, unholy” (2 Timothy 3:12). God is the ultimate source of good. Everything good comes from Him. He is the author of life and the giver of all ability to benefit by it. If we ignore Him, we are setting ourselves up for ingratitude and misery. They go together. Yet many people may say, “I deserve better than I’ve received.” But is that really true? Do we really deserve anything good from God who is Holy and whom we have offended?

God’s Word says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If this were the end of the story, there could be no blessing or thanksgiving. But God is a great giver.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). If God is such a great giver, it seems obvious that you and I should learn to be grateful and thankful receivers. Have you received God’s great love-gift of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and salvation through Him? If you have, then you have just begun to learn what true blessing is.

But some say, “If God is so good, why do so many people suffer? And why am I not happier than I am?” Sin and suffering go together. God’s Word tells us that, and we need only to look around us to see the reality of that relationship.

Now consider this analogy:

True or False?

There are many physically unclean people in this world. Therefore, it must be that either there is no such thing as soap or else soap doesn’t work.

False, of course!

Thank God for soap! But soap must be applied to be effective. And when God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is accepted by faith in Him, it is effective. But it must be individually applied.

As for happiness, God never meant us to be happy without Him. Anybody who is determined to live without Him can’t justly blame God for the misery he or she is living. God is indeed a great giver and a great blesser. But God, because He is God, only gives and blesses on His terms. You are not God, and neither am I. We can’t negotiate with Him, and we can’t manipulate Him. If we simply receive what He gives on His terms, we will find our hearts satisfied! However, if we come to God insisting on our own terms, we will be disappointed.

So, friend, let God be God, and let gratitude be your attitude.

Blessed are the thankful! Be blessed forever!

Bible Truth Publishers