We have once again entered that time of the year when our attention turns particularly to thanksgiving. For Christians, every day is to be a day expressed in thanksgiving. God’s blessings are effectively innumerable for all of us! Psalm 103:1-2 declares, “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (NKJV).
How do we bless the LORD? We bless the LORD by affectionately and gratefully praising Him. How is this done with all that is within us? We worship and praise the LORD with all the energy and forthrightness that our spiritual maturity can possibly express. Through prayer, we enter God’s gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. How do we bless His holy name? We give God what He is rightfully entitled as our Creator. God is entitled to honor, reverence, glory, adoration and thanksgiving. How do we avoid forgetting God’s benefits? Every day, we must realize the trappings of this world are all Satan’s lures to harden us through the deceitfulness of sin. Sadly, too many expect God’s benefits without any thought whatsoever of Him, not to mention expressing thankfulness to Him. Every breath we take and every step we make is because God continues to say so. When this stops, we pass from a point in time into eternity!
Psalm 103:3-5 brings into the sharpest focus just Who is behind all our benefits. These blessings, benefits or advantages are all for our good, and we need to be thankful daily. “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalm 107 accents repeatedly our need to be thankful to God for all that He does for us. The first verse declares, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Verse eight declares, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
This declaration repeats in verses 15, 21 and 31. We especially need to take notice when God’s Word repeats itself that many times in one passage! Verses 21-22 nail the point that God wants us to be in a perpetual mindset of thanksgiving. “Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.”
Psalm 107:43 concludes with this solemn challenge. “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.” How wise and understanding are we in giving thanks to the Creator and sustainer of it all?
