Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart

“The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.

- Douglas Wood

Over 30 years ago, Don Moen wrote and recorded a worship song which said:

Give thanks with a grateful heart

Give thanks to the Holy One

Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

We have so much in this life to be thankful for, but more than anything else, I am thankful for the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

In His birth, He taught us humility, casting aside His rights as God to come from heaven to earth. In His life, He showed us by His example how to live with integrity, compassion, forgiveness, love, truth, patience, and the list could go on and on. In His death, He offered us grace and mercy, receiving what we do not deserve and not receiving what we do deserve. In His Resurrection, He gives us new life in Him and supernatural power to live victoriously.

How can we not give thanks with a grateful heart?

God’s Word reminds us over and over to give thanks, to be grateful for who God is and what He has done.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

- 1 Chronicles 16:34

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

- Psalm 28:7

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving… For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods."

- Psalm 95:1-3

We are simply without excuse for not offering our thanks to God with a grateful heart. Regardless of our circumstances or situation in life, despite how broken and small we may feel, our God is worthy of our gratitude.

As A.A. Milne wrote regarding little Piglet in Winnie the Pooh, “‘Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.’”

If Piglet’s heart can hold a rather large amount of gratitude, how much more should ours?

Pastor Ken

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