The Benefits of Thanksgiving

By nature we are not grateful people. We are selfish sinners with an
attitude akin to that of the prodigal: “Give me [now] the portion that falleth to me.” We take our mercies for granted. We presume upon our “rights.”

Yet in both the Old and New Testaments, God enjoins us to be thankful. To entice us, He not only cites the many benefits for which we should be thankful, but He also reveals to us the benefits for being thankful. When we bless the Lord, WE are in turn blessed! Conversely, when we fail to “render unto the Lord for all His benefits,” our depravity is exposed. We reap misery and heartache as the natural results of the sin of ingratitude.

It would not be an oversimplification to state: “There is nothing wrong with me that a ‘good dose of thanksgiving' wouldn't fix!” Perpetual gratitude is essential to our perpetual victory and power.

We owe everything we are and have to God – His grace, mercy, and longsuffering. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17).

Have we drunk of the “cup of salvation”? Then, by all means, let us offer to God the “sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Ps. 116:13,17).