The Acts of Gratefulness
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV)
Another translation uses the phrase “overflowing with thankfulness” instead of "abounding in it with thanksgiving" in verse 7. What does it mean to be overflowing with thankfulness? Have you ever been in need, or seen someone in dire need of something, and when they are given what they need they are thankful in a constant flow of gratitude, over and over again. To a lot of people, this might actually be a bit too much, to see the kind of gratitude that just keeps on showing itself right there on the surface. It’s overwhelming. This is what God wants to see in our lives. To show Him total and complete gratitude for everything He does, as this is more than just a simple “thank you” but an act of love and appreciation for Him. He desires us to come to Him as His children and show our appreciation in many different forms. He loves to bless His people, even more so to those who show Him that they are truly grateful.
Living our lives in a walk with Jesus with a constant heart of thanksgiving has many different actions and appearances. When our hearts are in it, our bodies should be too, don’t you think? We must first bring out hearts to a place of sheer gratitude for all that God is and has done, and with that gratitude, we need to show our gratefulness on the outside. Scripture has many different scenarios where gratefulness has been shown on the outside, as well as being held on the inside. Take King David for instance, he has such incredible gratitude toward God that he wrote songs, psalms, poems, prayers, and other writings just to show his gratitude to God for all things. His heart was in it, so his actions followed in line. In this part of the study, I want to focus on what thanksgiving looks like on the outside when it’s truly held on the inside.
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psalm 30:12 (NKJV)
Jesus gave thanks before meals. If you read through the gospels, Jesus regularly laid out a practice for His disciples of praying before meals. He always took the time to thank His Father before breaking bread with His disciples. He always made a habit of giving thanks before meals, along with many other activities. And take notice of Jesus’ practice of praying before meals. So often I hear of people when they pray for their meals, and usually it takes the form of asking for something, looking for guidance, saying things like “bless this food to our bodies.” All good things, but often missing the main point. When Jesus prayed at meals, He didn’t just simply ask for things or bless the food, He consistently thanked His Father for provisions. The food is the blessing, that we have food to eat and are blessed to have it. Thanksgiving, especially when you receive something even as simple as your next meal, is a crucial part of growth toward God and in your walk of faith.
Daniel gave thanks to God for many things, including for wisdom and power. After being captured in Judah before Jerusalem was destroyed to be taken away to Babylon, he always resolved himself to be grateful to God. Even after being thrown into a den of hungry lions, Daniel gave thanks to God for everything through prayer. When the king had a dream and no one could interpret it, God gave Daniel the ability to translate the king’s dream, and Daniel gave thanks to God for the wisdom and power.
Paul gave thanks for the church and Christian fellowship. He regularly prayed and wrote his thankfulness for the church in his letters, thanking God for his fellow Christians and their faith. Before the shipwreck, Paul gave thanks to God in front of the entire crew during their meal and gave thanks afterward that they all made it to the shore.
David gave thanks in all he received from God, but he also gave thanks in another way, through generosity. David was blessed in many ways, including with massive wealth, which he used to benefit his people. He also wouldn’t give a sacrifice if it didn’t cost him anything. David was called a man after God’s own heart, and one of the main reasons for this was his gratefulness toward God for anything and everything.
11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,
12 because the service of this ministry is not only providing for the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God.
Corinthians 9:11-12 (NET)
There are so many different places, times, and reasons to be thankful. Everything God does in our lives deserves gratefulness to God. These are a lot of examples of reasons and times that people in Scripture have been thankful to God, but how many of these stories show thankfulness on the outside beyond prayer and food? All of them. If you look deeper, these stories include thanksgiving in more than just one way. Jesus gave thanks for food, but He also shared it with others, and even multiplied it for thousands of people! (Though most of us won’t be able to show our gratitude in quite that same manner just yet). Paul shared the Gospel across large parts of Asia, sharing resources, teachings, and fellow disciples with the Churches that were forming at that time. He gave his whole life to the Gospel all the way up to his death with teachings and generosity across all the lands he visited. Daniel used the gifts he was grateful to God for to serve the king, which consequently landed him in a pit of lions, but afterward made king Darius decree that all the land only worship the God of Israel. And King David gave thanks on the inside and the outside in everything that he gave and received. Everyone’s situation was different, everyone gave thanks in different ways, but they all had one thing in common; they were thankful to God that He is God, and for all His marvelous blessings and power.
With all these examples of thanksgiving laid out for us in the Bible, like in the book of Colossians with nine mentions in four chapters where thanksgiving is laid out many times in many different manners, in the book of 2 Corinthians with sixteen mentions in thirteen chapters, and 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians where thanksgiving is taught throughout. What are the ways we can show thanksgiving in our lives today?
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
One of the ways Paul teaches us to show thanksgiving is through charity and hospitality. To use what we have been blessed with to bless others and to do good works for others because God has done good works toward us. This is another reason why God wants us to work for our employers as if we were working for God. Thankfulness to God, faithfulness to work, and honor to those who pay you for your services. There are so many examples in the Bible, and even many examples out there today. How often in today’s age do we see people clinging to their possessions? Prioritizing their greed over the needs of others. God despises this mentality and it’s why the rich may have such a hard time getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. God wants us to share what we have in honor of Him, to use the blessings He’s given us, with a thankful heart, to bless others in our path. Nothing good has ever come from selfishness, and God does not bless a selfish heart. Take some time today to see what you have. I know some of us can feel strapped sometimes, but there’s always room for us to give back if we live with a thankful heart for all that we have. And as you will see in your life, if you choose to live in a manner of thanksgiving, God will bless you more if you are willing to be grateful and to give what He has given you.
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