Spiritual Disciplines for the Soul: Thanksgiving

William Gaultiere, Ph.D. © 2005

Jesus lived in thankfulness to God.  Repeatedly, he thanked his Father for providing food (e.g., Luke 24:30).  He appreciated God as the Father who watched over all his creation, even the little sparrows thought to be of little value and the wildflowers that were never seen by people (Matthew 6:26-30).  He thanked God for listening to him (John 11:41).  He thanked God for the opportunity to minister to others (Matthew 14:19, 15:36).  He began and ended his prayers with words of thanks and praise to his father and he taught his followers to do the same (Matthew 6:9-13).  He even thanked God for the opportunity to sacrifice his life for the world (Matthew 26:26-27).  Jesus expressed his thanks to God publicly for the benefit of others that they too might learn to be grateful to God (John 11:41-42).

And yet of the thousands of people that Jesus ministered to the gospels record relatively few instances of people thanking him.  The Samaritan leper was the only one of ten lepers who were healed to come back and thank him (Luke 17:11-19).  The prostitute was the only person at Simon the Pharisees party to show appreciation to Jesus for the forgiveness he offered to them all (Luke 7:36-50).  Even Jesus’ own disciples didn’t seem to show gratitude to their Master until after he rose from the dead.  Most people who benefited from Jesus’ wise teaching and wonderful miracles walked away without thanking him.  Yes, they were amazed by Jesus and maybe in their excitement they praised God or told other people about what Jesus did, but they didn’t go to Jesus to thank him personally.

Jesus’ disciples may have been slow to develop attitudes of gratitude, but they certainly did become grateful.  The Acts of the Apostles and the epistles written by John and Peter, Jesus’ brother James, and Paul, all overflow with generous expressions of thanks to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And their thankfulness to God spills out into their appreciation for one another and the people they ministered to.

Thanksgiving is foundational to a lifestyle of worship to God.  We can’t grow spiritually without it.  In his Psalms David brought thankfulness to the forefront of spiritual life and it’s been there ever since.  Thankfulness to God for his many blessings belongs in all of our prayers (Philippians 4:6), in all of our praises (Psalm 95:2), in all of our conversations (Ephesians 5:19-20), in all of our thoughts about others (Philippians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:3), in all our life circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  This leaves lots of room for us to grow in gratitude!

“Thank you” are two of the most important words you can say.  They are the language of a holy and healthy soul.  They bless God, others, and yourself.  They usher you right into God’s presence! (Psalm 100:4).  So let’s strive together to grow in thankfulness to God by practicing it as a spiritual discipline.  It’s so easy to begin.  “Thank you Lord for…”