Why Be Thankful?

“Thank the LORD because He is good. His love continues forever.” – 1 Chronicles 16:34

We have a lot to be thankful for. The Bible lists many reasons why we should give thanks to God (1Thessalonians 5:18). We thank Him to show how grateful we are for what He has done. What He does includes providing us with everything we need and own (James 1:17). God even provides for people who hate Him (Matthew 5:45). God does it because He is good. This action of His goodness shows us His true character of love.

This gives us a reason to want to praise God even more with thanksgiving. We can also be thankful to God for “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God sent His only Son to die on the cross and Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins. The salvation that Jesus gives is a free gift from God (Romans 6:23). We do not have to repay God or earn our way to heaven.

Before we were saved, we were God’s enemies because of our sins. God made us His friends through the death of His Son (Romans 5:10). Now that we are His friends, we are made righteous and holy (Romans 5:10). We can thank God for His friendship that He kindly gave to us. We can also be thankful to God for the peace we receive when we became a follower of Christ. It is important to have peace while living in a fallen world with sinful people. Whatever happens, either good or bad, Jesus' peace provides us with comfort in any situation (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

We are very thankful for You. You are worthy of praise. You are an awesome God because You provide everything that we need. Every good thing comes from You. While we were sinners Christ died for us. What a reason to thank You even more. Thank you for saving us from eternal punishment and allowing us to be with You in heaven forever. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!