I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord. —Psalm 116:17
The Bible calls thanksgiving a sacrifice. Giving thanks may not feel much like a sacrifice when the turkey is fat and the children’s cheeks are ruddy. Yet even in our current state of abundance, many of us find it difficult to take the time to thank God for all He’s done.
When life is hard and the days are dark and cold, thanking God is the response I can choose. But when our plans go terribly wrong, our finances fail, our expectations are thwarted, or the smell of death is close by . . . then thanksgiving becomes truly a sacrifice.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says we’re to “give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Even when life is hard, we can be thankful for the great hope we have in a living God. Nothing can stop Him. Nothing can hold Him. The lengths He went to in order to demonstrate His love for us should cause gratitude to perpetually bubble up in our hearts.
Make it Personal
Even if your circumstances are difficult, what can you thank the living God for this year?