Three Reasons to Be Thankful (Episode 29)

With a view toward the holiday we call Thanksgiving Day, Frank King in this podcast episode shares three reasons for us to be thankful. Of course, thanksgiving for us is not merely a day of the year. Rather, it is a way of life. But the holiday serves as a good opportunity for us talk about the importance of thanksgiving and being thankful.

It’s highly possible that some who listen to this podcast episode may not be feeling as though they have much to be thankful for. Let’s face it; even Christians can experience times in life when things can look dark. God never promised us that every day in our life would be a great day.

But Frank says these are three reasons you should be thankful—even when your circumstances suggest otherwise. That’s because these three things are true about God even when you are unhappy about your current status in life. Remember, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV).

The focus of this podcast is not the giving of thanks but being thankful. Frank says these two are not necessarily the same. He says you can attend worship every week, offer thanksgiving to God, and still not be thankful. You can offer thanksgiving and not be thankful, but you can’t be thankful and not offer thanksgiving.

"Give Thanks to Him, Bless His Name"

In Psalm 100, the psalmist challenges the people of God to come to the house of God with thanksgiving and praise. He writes, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name” (Psalm 100:4, NASB).

To appreciate this verse, consider the physical setting of the house of God in the Old Testament. There were twelve gates to the city. As you approach the house of God, the outside area immediately adjacent to the house of God was called the courts. The psalmist challenged the people to enter this area with thanksgiving and praise.

How might the words of the psalmist speak to us today? Some people today attend the house of God expecting the choir or the praise team to get them in a spirit of worship. Or for the preacher to get to the climax of his message to get them excited. But the psalmist says we should enter the “gates” with thanksgiving and the “courts” with praise. For us today, that means we should enter the church property with thanksgiving and the entrance with praise—before we enter the house of God.

Why should we come to the house of God with this exuberance? In the next verse, the psalmist gives us three reasons: “For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations” (verse 4).