Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, a time to pause and reflect on all the blessings that the Lord has poured into our lives throughout the past year. And truly we have much to be thankful for! Let us take a moment and count a few of God’s benefits to us as Solomon did in 1 Kings 8:54-60,
“Blessed be the LORD , who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He not leave us nor forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways to and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near the LORD our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day may require, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.”
Are you not sure how to put your thanks into words? From this passage we can compile a short list of things we all can thank the Lord for:
- He gives rest to His people.
- His promises never fail.
- He is always with us.
- He never leaves us nor forsakes us.
- He inclines our hearts to Himself (helps us live right).
- Our prayers are near the Lord day and night.
- He maintains His people (meets their daily needs).
- He wants all the people of the earth to know Him.
- He is the only true God; there is no other.
Living for God is a two-way relationship. He has all these promised blessings handed to us on a platter, but He does ask for something from us in return for His investment in our lives. Solomon continued in 1 Kings 8:61,
“Let your heart therefore be loyal to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”
Pastor Henry Hughey from Columbus, Georgia once put it this way, “What will it cost us to give our lives to God, to live for Him and follow His ways? It will cost us EVERYTHING! But it is an even exchange–all of us for all of Him–ALL our hearts and lives for ALL the riches and blessings that God has to offer (and eternal life on top of that)!” That sounds like a win-win situation to me. (Actually, it sounds like we get the best end of that bargain.)
And what can we expect from God when we surrender to Him all of ourselves? Solomon saw just a taste of God’s interest on His return in 2 Chronicles 7:1-2,
“When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’s house.”
When we are loyal to God and bless Him in our lives, He comes in with His holy presence and fills us to overflowing. His glory will permeate every corner of our hearts and life. He becomes greater and greater, and we become less and less. Now that is something we can really be thankful for!
Thanks be to God for His abundant grace and mercy! May you celebrate Him not only this week, but all year long!