Thanks Is Due

There have been occasions I’ve given a gift or done something for somebody, and I expected a thank you. I felt a thank you was due. Not only did I think it was due, I chose a bad attitude when the thank you never came. It was a wrong attitude from beginning to end. I should do things out of love not expecting anything in return including a thank you, but God is different. He alone is due our thankful hearts and words in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) not just on Thanksgiving Day or the month of November.

Psalm 107 is not one of the thanksgiving psalms. It is actually categorized as a lament in a group of laments (Psalms 3-7). It is a song about a person who is accused falsely. Yet, look at how the psalm ends.

            I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High. [1]

Psalm 7:17

Even in a time of trial and suffering, the psalmist, David vows or commits to giving God the thanks due to His righteousness and to sing praise to Him. What can we learn from David? First, we should commit to living thankful. Thankfulness doesn’t just happen. It requires purposefulness. In addition to verbally thanking God, write your thanksgivings down. Share them with others. Take discontented, complaining, anxious, envious, and angry thoughts captive. Put them off and put on gratitude. Cultivate a mindset of thanksgiving.

Second, we know and probably thank God for material and temporal things like our food, our families, or our jobs. But how often do we thank God for spiritual blessings. As we went through Ephesians 1 in recent months, we learned that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).[2] In addition, we can be thankful for who God is. This is what David did. He gave God the thanks due to His righteousness. We may praise God for who He is, His attributes, the “God is…” truths, but how often do we stop and think through each of those “God is…” truths, the impact of them, and then give thanks to God that He is who He is.

So, this week for Reflection, I want you to work your way through the list of “God is…” truths below. Think about why you are thankful for each one. Don’t rush. Maybe even choose one/day. Then, spend time thanking God for who He is. [3]

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 7:17.

[2] Examples: Salvation, eternal life, being a child of God and joint-heir with Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit, slave to righteousness, and too many more to number.

[3] Artwork by Holly Reese Design.