A CUP OF COLD WATER

 Thanksgiving 

Thanksgiving conveys appreciation from the receiver to the giver, and opens the door to more blessings (Luke 17:17-19). In Psalm 100, we are encouraged to come to God with thanksgiving and praise, acknowledging that He made us. We give God thanks because of all His attributes, wonderful works, salvation, and for giving us all we need to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). We also give Him thanks in all situations because it is His will for us to do so (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The Holy Bible records many examples of people who gave God thanks: The Samaritan leper returned to give Jesus Christ thanks when he realised he was healed (Luke 17:15–16); Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, gave God thanks even when she, a virgin, did not know how she would conceive a child (Luke 1:38); Hannah gave thanks after the birth of Samuel, following years of infertility (1Samuel 1:26–28); and Job gave thanks to God in the midst of his terrible suffering (Job 1:20–21). Jesus Christ constantly gave thanks to God, the Father. He gave thanks before raising Lazarus from the grave, before He fed the five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fish, and before He ate the Last Supper with His disciples (John 11:41–43; Mark 8:6; Matthew 26:26–27). 

My thanksgiving to God is for who He is to me, my Saviour. From the time He released me from heaven into my mother’s womb, throughout the gestation period, to birth, childhood, and now adulthood, He has watched over me (Psalm 139). He loves me unconditionally and, in His love, gave me salvation (John 3:16). He watches over me when I sleep and faithfully wakes me up every morning. He puts a song in my mouth, takes me out and brings me back home to my family safely each day (Psalm 121). He laughs with me, cries with me, walks with me through good and difficult times, and grieves when I am misunderstood and treated unfairly (Hebrews 4:15). Every day, He provides new mercies and blessings for me to be thankful for. He answers my prayers and redirects other prayers to make them answerable. He is always with me. I am most thankful that His faithfulness is not only to me but to my descendants (Psalm 103:17–18). If I want to write all my thanksgiving to God for who He is to me and all He has done and continues to do for me, the pages of any book would not be enough to contain them! There is no end to my thanksgiving to God. 

Happy Thanksgiving!