Thankfulness:
Introduction
“Oh give
thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him,
sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his
holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
Seek the
LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the
wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has
uttered,”
Psalm
105:1-5
We come together to study God’s word
in a partnership together as sisters in Christ (Rom. 12:10). This allows us to strengthen each other and
thus better spread the gospel of Christ.
Paul was thankful of others doing the same, as we can read in
Philippians 1:3-5. “I thank my God in
all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer, of mine for you all making
my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first
day until now.” I am thankful for all of
you being a part of this class, so that our “love may abound more and more,
with knowledge and all discernment, so that [we] may approve what is excellent,
and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of
righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God,”
(Phil. 1:9-11).
Colossians 3:15-17 speaks of the
benefits and responsibilities we have as Christians. “And let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him.” We have put together this
class with the desire to teach each other, so that we can all learn to be more
thankful in our daily lives. The Bible
speaks often of giving thanks, indicating that God feels strongly about an attitude
of thankfulness in those who follow him.
In fact, according to Romans 1:21-32,
failure to give God appreciation leads to rank ungodliness. “For although they knew God, they did not
honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their
thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened,” (Rom. 1:21). Giving thanks to God is not merely to make
God feel loved, but it guards our hearts against the terrible ways of the
world. Jesus said, “For out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil
person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil,” (Matt 12:34-35). Rather than having our hearts darkened (Matt.
13:14-15), we seek to be enlightened through the word of God (Matt. 13:16).
In Luke 18:10-14, we learn that it
is possible to be thankful in an unrighteous manner as well. The Pharisee was a proud and arrogant man,
and these are traits we are told to abhor.
Proverbs 6:16-19 gives us a list of things which God hates, and among
them is a haughty look. This is not the
sort of thankfulness that God seeks from us.
Instead, we need to approach God with humility. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others,” (Phil. 2:3-4). A humble heart is essential to living a life
in thankfulness.
Not only is thankfulness desirable
to God and beneficial for us, it can also benefit others. According to 1 Corinthians 14:16-17, thanks that
are given in public prayers provide edification to those that hear it. Building each other up is an important task
(1 Thess. 5:11), and one that can be done via the giving of thanks in public
prayer. This also means praying in our
hearts with the one leading the prayer aloud.
Next week we will be discussing what
the Bible says about the things we should be thankful for in prayer!
(Questions that went with this lesson are available upon request.)
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