Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1 136:1 הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־ טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
This verse has been the first words that I speak when I wake each morning, throughout my day and when I go to bed. The words give thanks in Hebrew is
yāḏâ (yaw-daw’), meaning to revere or worship (with extended hands)
- to give thanks, extol, make a public confession
- to confess, confess (the name of God)
It’s been a goal and focus to have a heart full of gratitude, to have an attitude of thankfulness. I believe this catches Jesus’ attention! Let me show you in the Bible when Jesus noticed people showing Him gratitude and thanksgiving.
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”. When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19
I talk to my kids and stress the importance of giving thanks. All that we have, each day we wake up, making it through the hard times, celebrating the good times, each gift, ability, talent-there is so much to be thankful for. When I’m struggling, I start thanking God for anything I can think of. The list can go on and on. He is so good and faithful. He is worthy of all of my praise and gratitude. I’m thankful for His provision, His blessings, my family, the Word, my church family, the prayers and encouragement of friends, my home, my health; the list is never ending. It takes the focus off of complaining, speaking the wrong things and focusing on the negative.
The more I read the Word, the more I see His heart, His goodness, His good thoughts towards me and His love. It is without measure. He’s been so faithful to me. And friend, whether you see it or not, He’s been so faithful to you. His heart is so for you. When I was studying His goodness and faithfulness, Psalm 100:5 says, “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations.” We could never reach the end of God’s goodness. We could walk towards the horizon, experiencing God’s goodness every step along the way, only to find when we reach the horizon, it keeps going, without end. He is faithful. Try to recount the ways, one by one the ways God has been good and faithful to you. Write it down.
Ann Voskamp wrote the book One Thousand Gifts. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to read it. She writes about giving thanks to God, in the good times, the hard times and when it doesn’t make sense. Reading it compelled me to start a journal where I write down blessings in my life, the obvious, the ones that were uncovered in the mundane daily activities, the ones we can so often take for granted, and even the ones that came in harder seasons. Start a journal and write daily, weekly, monthly the things you are grateful for. Keep going back and keep giving thanks. Cultivate the gratitude in your heart and see God’s goodness in your everyday moments, on the mountain tops and in the valleys. He is always there. I believe the more you begin to see and try to count the ways He has been good to you, you’ll see His faithfulness and goodness is without end, like the horizon. It keeps going and going.
Ann wrote in her book, “Gratitude isn’t merely the way we feel some of the time-gratitude is the way we frame our lives. Thankfulness is more than a wave of emotion-it’s a posture of life.” My Grandpa started a tradition at Thanksgiving that we’ve all continued. After dinner, from the youngest to the oldest, we’d all share what we were thankful for. Everyone would share, even if it was one or two sentences. I think it’s a good practice to keep going year-round. Sit with your family once a week, daily, whatever works best for your schedule and make it a daily part of living. It changes things. It changes the things we focus on and the way we are speaking. I know because I used to be rather pessimistic. It was easier to see and speak of the negative. I’m thankful that God has changed this in me. The small trickle of giving thanks has now become a continuous river in my life.
This isn’t to praise myself or glorify myself. Never let it be so. But it’s always to point to Him, to Jesus. He took a weary, tired, pessimistic girl and transformed my heart, which changed the way I see things. It’s given me hope, joy, peace, praise, and a new language-one full of thanks rather than complaining, hope in the hard times because I know He is faithfully with me in the valleys guiding me, joy when I’m on the mountain tops, peace when He’s leading me beside still waters, the seasons of rest and refreshment. I see His goodness, love and faithfulness everyday.
Last year, I was able to see CeCe Winans in concert. It was so amazing to see her and worship with her. She is such a beautifully poised, anointed singer. When she was speaking, I found I wanted to lean in and listen to every word she was speaking. She sings this song which has been my favorite since the first time I heard it. “All my life, You have been faithful. All my life, You have been so, so good!” It seems to be my new anthem song. He is faithful and good, even when I fall short. He extends His Grace. He is patient. He forgives me. He teaches me, corrects me.
A text from my daughter saying, “I love you, Mom!”, a hug from my niece who just visited me for a week, my husband still reaching for my hand to hold throughout the day, prayers of friends and words of encouragement, a picture from my sister, my niece’s birthday, health, peace, a favorite worship song, God’s provision, blue skies and longer days, coffee with an old friend, visiting my son and nephew, and a praying mom are just a few of the things I’ve written down lately. So my friend, if you don’t have a dedicated journal for writing down things you’re grateful for, why don’t you give it a try. You’ll begin to see there is so much to be thankful for.