This post is part of the series, Songs of Thanksgiving. Find the whole series here.
Thanksgiving—being thankful and grateful for the undeserved blessings God lavishly pours out on us—isn’t merely reflexive and passive. It’s active and expressed in so many different ways.
But that isn’t how many people in our world understand thankfulness. We say we’re thankful for someone or something in our lives, and then we move on. We’ve acknowledged it, and besides, Thanksgiving only comes once a year, right?
But if that’s all we think it takes to be thankful, are we actually living lives of thanksgiving? What does it look like to be truly thankful?
Every day, I try to tell my wife, Rachel, that I’m thankful for her. (And I absolutely am; she’s simply the best—the most amazing Christian woman and my best friend. God has blessed me in so many amazing ways by letting me be in her life.) But if all I do is tell her that I’m thankful for her, how will she really know?
Yes, my wife can (and does) take my words in the kindest possible way, but if my actions don’t match up with my words, that makes it really difficult for her to know that I really am truly thankful for her. I need to show her with my words and my actions!
Do I always do that? Sadly, no. Thank God my wife forgives me when I don’t actively express thankfulness for her with my words and actions. Thank God she reminds me of God’s amazing, undeserved forgiveness through Jesus and encourages me to live as the new man I am in Christ too!
As Christians, our thankfulness to God flows from the forgiveness of all our sins that our Savior Jesus won on the cross for us. Our lives themselves are songs of thanksgiving—not reflexive and passive but active, expressive, and joyful songs!
No, we don’t always live and sing songs of thanksgiving, but that too is forgiven by our Savior! One of the awesome ways we can show our thankfulness to God for all he’s done for us is by sharing those thankful songs with others and inviting them to sing along with us.
As David wrote, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness” (Psalm 145:3-4,7).
Dear Christian, as you live in the joy of thanksgiving that is yours every day because of Jesus, remember to sing.
Sing aloud. Sing when other people—your friends, family, children, and coworkers—are around, when they can listen. Invite them to join you. Sing when only God can hear your beautiful, joyful song.
Sing songs of thanksgiving every day, remembering the abundant goodness God shows you and the righteousness that is yours—entirely because of your Savior Jesus!
Looking for ways to be intentionally thankful to God in not just November but every day? 364 Days of Thanksgiving: A Devotional Journal will help you recognize God’s many blessings in your life!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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