Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is really a position of the heart. Have you ever thought about what it means to bring the sacrifice of praise? In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was given to make retribution for sin. There were specific rules and procedures in how the sacrifice was supposed to look and when it was supposed to be given. The people at that time were living under the rule of law. Then Jesus changed everything by coming to Earth and willingly offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He died so that all of our sins past, present, and future would be taken care of. Because of this, full relationship is restored with God our Father. Therefore relationship triumphs over law. 

Thankfulness is a choice. Sometimes it is an easy choice. When things are going well, our children are behaving, family relationships are fun and full of life, the dishes are done and my favorite program is on tv, it is super easy to say thank you, Lord, for all the blessings in my life. What a great life I have been given. However, when people close to us get sick and even die, when the world is in chaos and we feel out of control, when there is more month than money, or when there are serious family issues going on, it is a much harder choice. I think this is what Paul is talking about in Hebrews 13 when he says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to HIs name.”  Did you catch the word continually? That means the sacrifice of praise is not based on circumstances because despite what circumstances we are going through God is always worthy of praise. 

Sometimes we truly do not understand everything that is going on in our life. We often question why we are having to deal with the things we are dealing with. Jesus never said life would be easy, but He did say He would always be there. When we don’t understand everything that is going on, we have actually been presented a wonderful opportunity to choose to be thankful. Choice is very important to God. That is why there was a choice of good and evil even in the Garden of Eden. God wants us to choose Him. And thankfulness even in the midst of not understanding our circumstances is the sacrifice of praise. I am sacrificing my ability to know why this is happening and how this will all come together and thanking God anyway. Thankfulness is humbling ourselves before God and admitting that we do not see the big picture. Only God sees the big picture. That is truly the sacrifice of praise.

God is a good Father. He wants to give us everything, but He also knows what is best to give us now. But His promises are always there. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises that He gives good gifts and He promises He has plans to prosper us not to harm us. These promises and many others that fill the Bible along with the gift of Jesus dying for our sins should bring us to thankfulness each and every day. It is just a matter of choosing to position our hearts in thankfulness.