Thanksgiving, like prayer, is rooted in God's power and sovereignty. The last eleven verses of Psalm 107, one of the great hymns of thanks in the Old Testament, makes plain that God is in control. He does what He wants, when He wants, how He wants to do it, and to whom He wants. Those of us who try to put to use our mother's admonition to say, "Please," and, "Thank you," sometimes find ourselves expressing gratitude in situations where it really makes no sense. The person on the "help-line" was really no help, but I say, "Thanks." anyhow. There is no such dissonance, though, when I offer thanks to my Heavenly Father.
Picking up on the words of James, the writer of the Doxology proclaims, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow."
When I offer thanks to God, I am not only interacting with
His all-power; I need to be aware of the fact that He is all-knowing. That takes my thanksgiving to an entirely new level. It is relatively easy to give thanks like the child with one eye open praying at the Thanksgiving table. The prayer is a survey of all that is seen. It is good to give thanks for what we see to be good, but if God is great and God is good, then even when I can't see the good in my situation I ought to offer thanks. That is the message of Psalm 107. For those who have turned to the Lord, even the bad times are fodder for thanks to my Lord. He uses the hard things to compel me to seek Him.
His all-power; I need to be aware of the fact that He is all-knowing. That takes my thanksgiving to an entirely new level. It is relatively easy to give thanks like the child with one eye open praying at the Thanksgiving table. The prayer is a survey of all that is seen. It is good to give thanks for what we see to be good, but if God is great and God is good, then even when I can't see the good in my situation I ought to offer thanks. That is the message of Psalm 107. For those who have turned to the Lord, even the bad times are fodder for thanks to my Lord. He uses the hard things to compel me to seek Him.
Give thanks, certainly for what you see--it is a gift from God's bounty--but beyond that for what you don't see. Give thanks based on your faith in Him.
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