In my devotions this morning, I was reading Psalm 92. The Psalmist begins,

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night”

This is a fitting verse for this week. We are blessed to live in a country where we set aside a day of the year especially to show gratitude. We have for which to be thankful. Following are several observations about Thanksgiving and our spiritual lives.

• Giving thanks is a good thing. In fact, it’s one of the best things we can ever do. God deserves all the thanks we could ever give and so much more. It is right and good that we pause to express gratitude to God for his blessings.
• Giving thanks helps us to be humble. It is so easy to live as if everything is about us and for us. When we give thanks (especially to God), we give credit to the one deserving and worthy. Thankful people are humble people.
• Giving thanks should be daily. Yes, it is good that we set aside a “Day” for Thanksgiving. But declaring God’s love in the morning and faithfulness at night reveals that our gratitude should be much more regular.
• Giving thanks can be evangelistic. When we give credit to God for our blessings and “declare” his “steadfast love,” we open the doors for sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.
• Giving thanks helps us avoid being grumpy. To be honest with you, I wake up in a grumpy attitude far too often. I’m not a morning person. But when I think of the blessings of God, his love and faithfulness, and see the smiles of my wife and boys, it helps change my demeanor. Being thankful really does change us.

There are many, many more reasons we can and should be thankful. I’d love to read some of your suggestions. Please take time (this week of all weeks) to pause and thank God and to thank others who have made you who you are.

Happy Thanksgiving!