Thanksgiving is really a state of mind and heart. I am amazed at how many times we are challenged to be thanks-givers in the Scripture. Giving thanks is an acknowledgment that all we have comes to us and is not something of our own contriving. We give thanks to God because we know He is creator and redeemer of His people, and our sustainer. Whether we live our lives in an attitude of thanksgiving determines how we worship.
Philippians 4 gives us insight into our thanksgiving state of mind. Paul challenges us to rejoice . . . to not worry but to depend on our Lord, with thanksgiving. It is an affront to our Lord, after all He is and has done, for us not to rejoice, for us to worry, for us not to have His peace guarding our hearts and minds in Him. In this chapter we are challenged to "think" on all that God provides for us and in us.
Will our thanksgiving instruct our living? Will our thanksgiving affect our worship and bless the Lord? Will our thanksgiving challenge us to give sacrificially so others may know the same peace? Will our thanksgiving create an attitude of thankfulness in us that affects all we do and say so that He is glorified? The more an attitude of thanksgiving instructs our lives . . . the more it will change our worship! And . . . it also works the other way. The more we thank Him in our worship the more apt we will be in living our daily lives with an attitude of thankfulness. mjm
