Tomorrow you will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. Take sometime this Thanksgiving to pause and count your blessings. Reflect on how thanksgiving and faith are intimately intertwined. Gratitude flows from believing in God’s promises, while your belief is strengthened by remembering His faithfulness.
Consider the story of Sarah, who laughed when God promised her a child in her old age. Yet, when Isaac was born, her laughter transformed into deep thanksgiving. “God has brought me laughter,” she declared, “and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6, NIV). Her experience teaches us a profound truth: thanksgiving often follows the fulfillment of promises dared to believe.
Let us examine the ways that thanksgiving and faith are intertwined.
Companion to Belief
Serves as a spiritual lens through which you can see God’s faithfulness. By cultivating a thankful heart, you become more attuned to the ways God fulfills His promises in your life – both the dramatic miracles and the subtle daily provisions. Use your thanksgivings to create a journal, recording God’s faithfulness.
David repeatedly began his psalms with thanksgiving, even in the midst of trials. His gratitude wasn’t just a response to good circumstances; it was an expression of unwavering faith in God’s promises. “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1). David’s thanksgiving strengthened his belief, and his belief fueled his thanksgiving.
Position to Receive
Thanksgiving positions your heart to receive God’s promises. Approaching life with gratitude, you develop a spiritual sensitivity that helps in recognizing God’s work in your life. It’s like adjusting the lens of a camera – thanksgiving brings God’s promises into sharper focus, making them more real and personal to you.
Consider Paul and Silas singing hymns of thanksgiving in prison (Acts 16:25). Using the power of choice to give thanks in dire circumstances demonstrating their deep belief in God’s promises of faithfulness. Their thanksgiving preceded deliverance, showing that gratitude isn’t just a response to blessings – it’s an expression of faith in the Promise-Keeper.
Fortress of Faith
Use the practice of thanksgiving to guard your hearts against doubt and despair. By actively recalling and giving thanks for God’s fulfilled promises, you build a fortress of faith that stands strong when new challenges arise. Each “thank you” becomes a brick in your foundation of belief.
The Future
Take time to reflect on the connection between thanksgiving and faith. Thanksgiving and belief are not separate practices but rather two aspects of the same faithful response to God. When you choose to believe His promises, thanksgiving naturally flows. When we choose to give thanks, our faith grows stronger. Stronger in having hope and belief in the promises yet to come.
