Thankfulness

When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. [Deuteronomy 8.10]

What the verse above is saying is to remain thankful.

Every time we encounter good, it is a test. The test is one of greatest importance too.

To see any good thing, without acknowledging that it is God Who gives it, is a denial of God. There is no good apart from God. While kudos may be in order when someone does us a kindness, we must remind ourselves to ultimately give our thanks to God.

Thankfulness is an exercise of humility. If every good thing comes from above, then we (individually or corporately) have nothing to do with it. We can lay no claim on generating anything good because all good comes from God. To 'own' good is the height of pride. If we do not give God due credit for any and all good, then we arrogantly deny God.

With 'thankfulness' in mind, I want to consider the following verse from the New Testament:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them. [1 Timothy 2.1]

To give thanks for a person is to acknowledge they are a creation of God - something God called good in the beginning. In giving thanks for another person we acknowledge God's 'ownership' of that person. Because of this, our correct response then to that person cannot be one of judgment! If God owns everyone, then they are His to judge - our thanksgiving for them acknowledges that.

Furthermore, giving thanks for another person reminds us to remain humble. If we are not another person's judge, then we are not better than they are! We should all eat a piece of that 'humble pie' every day.

Father, every good thing comes from You. Every good thing that has ever happened to me has been a gift from You. Thank You for everything that is good - every blessing in my life! And, thank You for every person in my life - You created them and they are Yours. Thank You.