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Thanksgiving By Faith Alone

Can We Be Grateful When Life Is Too Good?

Thanksgiving is an act of faith. It is the response of a submissive creature to its Creator. In Leviticus, Israel is instructed to bring offerings of thanksgiving to God. Throughout Psalms David sings praises of thanksgiving to the Lord for His deliverance and protection. Isaiah gave thanks to God when he saw through revelation what the future of Israel would be. Jesus, on the night of His arrest, gave thanks as He shared the Passover with His disciples.

Thanksgiving is not about the comfort of our situation. Offerings were made by the Levites while they wandered through the wilderness. David wrote Psalms of thanksgiving in the midst of constant warfare. Isaiah gave thanks to God for the distant future, knowing that in the short-term his nation would be destroyed. Jesus ministered out of a thankful heart, knowing that His betrayal and crucifixion were imminent.

Thanksgiving is not the response of pleasant situation, it is the resolve and trust of a heart that has placed its faith in an all knowing and moment-by-moment foreordaining God! In our fatness and leisure we have missed the true faith of thanksgiving. This is no easy lesson to learn. This is no easy lesson to learn, but once again a loving God beckons us to return to Him and praise Him for His all-sufficient goodness, no matter the situation we are in.

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