Remember Thanksgiving
1 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Psalm 9:1 (NKJV)
Often, throughout my life, in one situation or another, I have found myself trying to remind my heart to be thankful. Have I become ungrateful? By this time in my life, I had been raised by a loving father, provided for in all my needs, I have a great career path with promising business ideas, married to the love of my life, and most importantly, loved and blessed by God. Among all these things, why does it seem I had become unthankful in my life? I started this study with the intention not only to study the Word and understand God’s meaning behind thankfulness, but also to understand my heart and why I must remind myself to be thankful regularly. Thankfulness is something God has laid on my heart over and over, to be grateful and to give thanks, so much that it has inspired me to study the Word on thanksgiving specifically.
I wanted to know why thanksgiving doesn’t just come naturally, effortlessly showing itself in my every day walk through life. And early on in my study I came to the realization, repeatedly directed throughout the Bible, thanksgiving is given of one’s own free will and it is a virtue held within one’s heart. Two separate values, one virtue. Thankfulness must first be held in your heart but requires purposeful effort to show thankfulness externally. If you are not truly thankful in your heart, in your soul, then your mind and body will not desire to show thanksgiving on the outside. Or at least your acts of thanksgiving will be empty or routine. I want to understand how we can reach this kind of gratitude toward God that our hearts are so thankful that they deeply desire to show it through thanksgiving.
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV)
I know well for myself that the flesh can pull you away from the truth God has instilled in your heart and your soul. Just as well, the human mind distracts us from what we should truly be grateful for. I know in my soul how grateful to God I am for my wife. With every glance at her, my heart cheers that she is mine. In the darkest time in my life, I prayed earnestly that God would give me a wife. Almost immediately, He led me to her and walked with me to earn her love, and soon after, her hand in marriage. On my knees as I prayed every night, I would hear His voice as He reminded me to be patient with her, as she was young and not quite ready for marriage. With thanksgiving and love, I would always honor His request. We dated for just over four months before we got married, as God worked in her heart to bring her to a place of readiness, and I have thanked God for her that entire time. Yet, I have found myself on occasion where I have had to ask my Father in heaven to forgive me for not feeling the sheer gratitude for her that I know is in my soul. In those moments, I immediately remind myself of the gratefulness in my soul for the gift God has given me—my wife.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
In the Bible, the verb εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō) is used thirty-six times and the noun εὐχαριστία (eucharistia) is used fifteen times. Both Greek words essentially mean “thanksgiving” but have two different contexts.
The verb eucharisteō is used in a context of giving thanks. To literally give thanks, gratefulness, or praise for something. This word is used with the intention that you are actively giving or showing your gratefulness with the purpose of showing it, of your own free will, an outward expression of thanksgiving.
The noun eucharistia is used in a context of being thankful. To hold thankfulness, gratefulness, or appreciation within yourself for something or someone. This word is used for holding thankfulness within your heart, either purposefully or naturally. There are other words in Greek used throughout the Bible that signify similar meanings, like “give thanks”, to intentionally and freely give thanks, similar to eucharisteō.
So, what part of this process that God has laid on my heart is written in His Word? What can I learn from His teachings that can improve my ability to not only desire thankfulness toward God, but also thanksgiving? How can I bring my heart to the place of gratitude that God desires from my soul? In my study, I have found all throughout the Bible that God has taught His people how to be thankful and how to show thankfulness. Again, two separate values, one virtue. I want to write my findings and walk through the process that God’s Word has already laid out for us to have true and thankful hearts, and though holding thankfulness in your heart is vital, why showing thanksgiving is said and demonstrated more throughout the Word of God.
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