God in His mercy first created everything that Adam and Eve would need for living a blessed kife in the Garden of Eden, before creating them. To teach and guide them about the expected ways they were to follow, He visited them everyday in the evening. What would have been the first task of the two when they met God? It would probably describe the joy of enjoying a particular fruit or a ride on some animal. When we have received everything from such a loving Father, who treats us as His beloved children, how much more should we be thankful to Him.
Why thank someone for our hard work? Apostle James, the brother of our Lord Jesus and head of the first church in Jerusalem, has warned all believers, ‘Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes from the Father of lights’ (James 1:16-17). This warning was not only for the first century Christians only but for believers of all ages. Lord Jesus was sinless, even on the cross, and He did not need to be baptized and John the Baptist did protest, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and You are coming to me?’ (Matthew 3:13-15). Lord Jesus urged him to do so, saying, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’. He clarified the reason for this later in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, ‘Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill’ (Matthew 5:17). The Law as given by God through Moses defined the ways to follow, to be considered righteous in the sight of the LORD God. But since it is impossible to fulfill all of the Law by anyone, God provided an avenue of repentance through sacrificial offerings at the Temple/ Tabernacle.
Lord Jesus prayed to God the Father at the end of His ministry on earth claiming ‘the glory which I had with You (God the Father) before the world was’ (John 17:5). In this He revealed His eternal existence as and with God. Apostle Paul taught the same about Lord Jesus, ‘who, being in the form of God…… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men’ (Philippians 2:6-7). The Creator became part of His creation and became dependent on it for sustenance as a child on His mother. He took our sins on Himself, suffered, was ridiculed, spit upon, beaten and scourged and finally suffered the most horrible death through crucifiction. God in His love did all this for us knowing well before that He will still be rejected and mankind’s refusal to use the only way, the ladder to heaven. What more do we expect from God to be filled with gratitude?
The All-knowing God was aware of killing of Abel by his brother Cain, yet He still met Cain (Genesis 4:9; 13). He even heard his complaint, ‘my punishment is greater than I can bear!’ God never turned away from mankind but we refused to acknowledge Him as God and Master. The prophet Micah was commanded by God to ask His chosen people Israel, ‘O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me’ (Micah 6:3; 8). We complain against God for not helping us out of our troubles without going into the reasons for our falling into that pit, in which we may fall again for we do not want to learn the ways to stay out. The prophet then tells us, ‘He (God) has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God?’
What does doing justly mean? It is to act honorably with all we come into contact with, and God must be the first in that list for He is always with us. On waking up a Jew first says ‘Modeh Ani’ before getting up or doing anything. It means ‘Thank You I’ for LORD God I place You first in everything and I acknowledge Your face. He then thanks God for returning his soul with compassion, for in sleep one is dead to everything around him. Our brain is trained to instantly notice what is wrong in us, our surroundings and in others. This prayer focuses on the blessing of new life in this new day and expect great things from Him. Every day is a blessing and David, though his name is not mentioned as the writer of this, declares, ‘This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it’ (Psalm 118:24). Acknowledging God’s hand in every breath and every good gift is the first step in living a life of absolute surrender and gratitude. It is generally believed that how we begin our day matters for the way it goes.
Thanking the Creator for the day is not only about the past gifts but also expectantly looking into the future continuous flow of similar blessings. The first act of thanking the Creator shifts my focus on Him rather that my own strength and the tasks of the day and then I draw on His power to be strong in Him. Beginning with gratefulness we move on the path of love and mercy, to both receive and to give. Who can claim any benefit, even the next breath on his own work to have earned that?
Being thankful has many blessings and when we thank someone for the good done to us, that person is encouraged to bless us more and how much more can we expect from God who is love? (1 John 4:8). Second, by being thankful we bring ourselves into a position of giving some joy to the other person, though we may not be able to physically or in any other way pay back. Can we reimburse our parents for all that they did for us to bring us this far in life? Any amount of money or gifts can never repay a mother for her care for the child. Lord Jesus’ act of ensuring proper care for His mother Mary for the future by entrusting the responsibility to Apostle John is an expression of gratitude to both (John 19:26-27).
At twelve years of age the Son of God discussed the Scripture and its interpretation with the Jewish elders and they were ‘astonished at His understanding and answers’ (Luke 2:47;51-52). He went with His parents back to Nazareth ‘and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men’. Mary, His mother, was a woman of the Word and her song of thanks and worship of God has 35 points related to the Old Testament, especially Psalms 111:9 and 103:17 (Luke 1:49-50). It was her influence on her children that the epistles of Apostle James and Jude are listed in the Scripture. Apostle John was filled with the love of his Master to claim himself as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’ and he was the only disciple who was present throughout the trial and crucifiction of the Lord. It was a blessing to him also to care for the mother of the Lord and glean the pearls of wisdom from her. The revelation given to him about the identity of Lord Jesus as the ‘Word in flesh’ and the future in the last book of the Holy Bible are results of this attitude of submission and thankfulness. God desires this from all His children to bless them continually.
Being thankful in trials – Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron, offered incense or ‘profane fire before the LORD and died’ (Leviticus 10:1-7). Aaron and his remaining two sons were not permitted to mourn for them though all of Israel could. Moses even warned Aaron from going out of the Tabernacle of Meeting area ‘for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you’. This restriction was not because of the judgement of God that came upon the two brothers, but due to the fact that Aaron and his sons were to be always ready to serve and be in the presence of the Lord, when called. God revealed Himself to Moses in the Burning Bush on Mount Horeb but stopped him from getting near, ‘for the place where you stand is holy’ (Exodus 3:5). Every believer is granted a special status in the Lord ‘that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light’ (1 Peter 2:9). During our sufferings, trials and separation from the dear ones, the option with us is to accept God as controller of everything or doubt His love towards His children. We are blessed to be part of His family in faith and doubting any of His actions as wrong or untimely, is doubting His love for us.
Lord Jesus has assured each and every believer of a prepared and earmarked place in heaven to be occupied after death. With this our Lord assures that He will come to take us there. Who except a believer has such a promise from God? But this does not bar a believer from feeling and expressing the separation with the loved ones but to prayerfully thank God for the blessings that we enjoyed from the departed ones during their lives. Lord Jesus promised us a Helper, the indwelling Holy Spirit who fills us with ‘power, love and self control’ (2 Timothy 1:7). In all his sufferings and loss of his children, his wealth, social prestige and even the support of his friends, ‘Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong’ (Job 1:22). During the time of his spiritual loneliness, he received a revelation about the Messiah. Job is the only one to say in the Old Testament, ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth’ (Job 19:25-27). He goes on to further declare to his three friends, ‘Whom (my Redeemer) I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another’. God is fully in control of every situation in the world, from the smallest to the greatest and nothing can ever surprise Him. When God is in control, the death of a loved one, our trials and other troubles have not escaped God’s attention.
Moses listed out the great blessings of obedience to God and many curses on the disobedient (Deuteronomy 28). Many believe that we are in the period of grace and mercy of God and the finished work of our Lord on the cross has released us from the curses of the Old Testament. If this is the case then Stephen, the first martyr of faith, should not have been stoned to death (Acts 7:58). Apostle Paul listed out his sufferings for preaching the gospel message and then he sums up all this as ‘outside were conflicts, inside were fears’ (2 Corinthians 6:4-5 & 7:5). With this line of thinking, like Apostle Paul none of us believers should fear anything, though it is a godly fear to be prepared. Apostle Paul then gives the final reasoning for being thankful, ‘for here (on earth) we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come (New Jerusalem). Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name’. We have nothing that is ours and everything is from God who has showered such great blessings on us and the only gift we can give Him for this is the gift of thanks.
Why do we fail to thank God? One family in Bethany, that was just outside Jerusalem, was very dear to Lord Jesus and He received a message from Mary and Martha, the two sisters, about the sickness of their brother Lazarus (John 11:3-6;41-42). On hearing this He declared, ‘this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it’. The Scripture makes a definite statement about Lord Jesus’ love for ‘Martha and her sister and Lazarus’, yet He stayed in the same place for two more days. Why did He stay put for two more days? Was it to wait for Lazarus to die? Before any spectacular event in His ministry, the Lord spent much time in prayer and these two days were spent by Him in conversing with God the Father, in addition to ministering to the people. The proof of this is given at Lazarus’ tomb and Lord Jesus ‘lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me’. And then He further said, ‘And I know that You always hear Me’. He prayed to thank the Father for a prayer He did not pray at that time but earlier and was already sure of the work that He was going to do. Thanking God for all that He does every moment of our lives is like a child reaching out to hug his mother or father or siblings. This is an expression of appreciation for all blessings and to recognize Him as my source. This makes me feel safe in His arms, a loving Lord, a caring Shepherd and a great Teacher and Guide.
Prophet Habakkuk was greatly pained at God using the Chaldeans to punish a sinful Israel filled with pride. His pain was about the punishment being meted out through an evil kingdom, which eventually suffered punishment. The Prophet then preaches a profound truth, ‘behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by faith’ (Habakkuk 2:4). In the third and last chapter of this short book, the Prophet sings a song of prayer to God, describing the glory and might of God. However, in the end he declares, ‘Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labour of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls – yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation’. He further sings about the reason for this attitude of him, ‘The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills’. He did not live by positive thinking and shut out the problems facing him, instead he saw the situation as it was and remembered that God was greater in all that and could then be filled with gratitude.
Lord Jesus agonized in prayer in the Gethsemane Park just before the final few events of His stay on earth but still prayed , ‘not My will but Yours be done’ (Luke 22:42). When we are fully submitted to God, we find strength to face the difficult times and yet be grateful for being chosen by Him to be His children.
Thanking the Lord is to bow down and surrender to His Divine status. Suffering does not come from God but from the devil and our close relationship with God, as His chosen ones, helps us find a way out. Apostle Paul prayed to the Lord for ‘the thorn in his flesh’ but faced every situation as a gift from God for building him up. He could then remain strong in faith while suffering intense persecution and opposition including physical violence. Just because some trials have come our way, we must never forget the innumerable blessings we receive from God!
