Far too much of the Christian's focus has little to no impact beyond the here and now. When Christians leave this world to meet the Lord, there are some things that will carry through to eternity (1 Timothy 6:19). One involves the thanksgiving we present to our Creator. In fact, death will heighten our desire and ability to offer thanks to God. Departed believers, along with angels and other spirit beings are already giving thanks to God in heaven. Our thanksgiving like theirs already will become more frequent and increasingly pure when we finally see our Saviour face-to-face. One day, we too will join that throng to thank the One who gave His everything for us. Why wait to face any regret of not having obeyed the Lord while on earth? Give God thanks now!
Preachers oftentimes wish for simpler days when people seemed more attuned to the things of God. Unfortunately, many believers have lost sight of how much we need God for our daily provisions. Far too many people today believe that their jobs provide their needs or that their efforts at their jobs have provided for their needs. Yet, the truth remains, God is the great provider. When people gathered food from their fields, they had a better understanding of how dependent they were upon God's hand of blessing. They thanked Him for providing the rain and the sunshine to make their crops to grow. They saw God's hand directly involved in the feeding of their families. We too ought to take time to give God thanks for the basic necessities and never neglect them simply because we have an easier life. Today's passage speaks specifically of food, but we ought to thank God for clothing and shelter as well.
Our heartfelt giving of thanks should always coincide with our prayers to God. Today's passage from Philippians confirms this truth, as do a host of other passages (Daniel 6:10; Ephesians 1:16; Colossians 1:3; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 2:1). However, an unthankful spirit always affects one's prayer life eventually developing into a vicious repetitive cycle. A lack of prayer instills a lack of thankfulness. Those who fail to be thankful, fail to cultivate a consistent prayer life. Fortunately, this lack of thankfulness exposes our true problem which is a heart lacking humility. As our heart fills with pride, we fail to realize the goodness of God and our need to continually seek His face with this spirit of thankfulness. The solution involves conditioning ourselves to have a prayer life consisting of a genuine time of thanksgiving. True thankfulness should eliminate many of the prayers consisting of nothing but self-serving desires.
Are you thankful for the people God has placed in your life? Most Christians could spend hours expressing their thankfulness for the godly influences. Oftentimes, however, we neglect to recognize the true blessings of these people. Once again, the apostle Paul provides an excellent example for each of us to emulate. Reading his epistles reveals an honour roll of thankfulness. He expressly thanked God for the believers at Rome (Romans 1:8), Ephesus (Ephesians 1:16), Philippi (Philippians 1:3), Colosse (Colossians 1:3), and Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:2). Paul realized the blessings of his associations with these believers and publickly thanked God for them. We too should be thankful for the godly influences God allows to cross our paths and influence our lives. Yet, the Bible goes a step further by indicating that Paul gave thanks “for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1).
