Daily Word of Grace # 183 (November 26, 2020)
In scripture we often read about the importance of giving thanks to God. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving,” the psalmist exhorts, “and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). Similarly The Apostle Paul urged the Thessalonians, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and more succinctly to the church at Colossae, “And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). And yet, thankful people tend to be greatly outnumbered by entitled people, as when only one of ten lepers healed by Jesus returned and “prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (Luke 17:12-16). While it is a cliché, we indeed have so much for which to be thankful, for even every heartbeat and every breath is ultimately a gift from God, the Giver of “every perfect gift” (James 1:17). Along these lines a particularly beautiful and comprehensive expression of thanks to God is found in “The General Thanksgiving” in The Book of Common Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory” (101). Thankfully, the Holy Spirit God uses this “means of grace” to transform our entitled hearts into thankful hearts.
Love and Prayers,
Dave