Why Be Thankful?

In short, because of Psalm 67:1-7. By merely creating us, God has shown us grace. But in the overflowing beauty and bounty of creation around us, God’s grace is poured out in its magnificent abundance. When we think of the richness of his provision, it is as if the glory of His face is shining on us. And as a matter of fact, it is. The glory of His face shines on us in the person of His Son—that Son who is revealed to us in His Word through the illumination of His Spirit. The richness and abundance of God’s grace toward us is enough to generate an eternity of praise and thanksgiving.

But do we thank God because He somehow needs it? Of course not—God is in need of nothing. In His infinite wisdom, God ordained that the thankful hearts and lives of His people would be a witness to the nations. The bottom line is—thankfulness is evangelism.

To bring it to a personal level, when was the last time you heard someone grumble and complain? I hear it all the time. When you pull through the fast food drive-thru and ask the person at the window how their day is going, how do they respond? Most of the time it’s with a sour comment about how they can’t wait until they get off work. Does that make you want what they have? If you were looking for a job, would that make you want to go work there?

In the same way, Christians who display a grumbly, negative attitude to the world are a terrible witness. It’s no wonder—if that’s what Jesus did for you, I wouldn’t want it either. But when we go through life with an attitude of praise and thankfulness, it’s contagious.

God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us—
That Your way may be known in the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.

That’s the way God designed it—now go be a witness….