We have much for which to give thanks this Thanksgiving season. Hunters are thankful that it’s deer season, but their wives might not share those feelings of gratitude. I heard about one unhappy wife who confronted her husband about his out-of-control enthusiasm for the sport. “Your obsession with deer hunting has gone way too far!”, she complained. “It has even begun to have a negative effect on our son!” The husband quickly responded, “You leave Buck out of this!”

Seriously, we Christians should be the most thankful people on the planet. The Bible continually exhorts us to be thankful. We see the word “thanks” in some form or another in the Scriptures about 150 times. The theme of thanksgiving is a thread that runs consistently through the Bible.

The opposite of being thankful is to grumble and complain. One of my Bible college professors once remarked about how inconsistent it was for students to dutifully bow their heads to give thanks for their food in the school cafeteria and then immediately after the prayer to complain about the food! When we grumble and complain we are implying that God has not taken care of us sufficiently.

But in fact, God has provided for all our needs. He gives us life, health, food, shelter, jobs, family and friends and other blessings too numerous to list. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Malachi 3:10 reminds us that God is willing to “…throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” 

And of course, there is the ultimate blessing of all—the gift of salvation that we have been offered through the crucified and resurrected Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! 2 Corinthians 9:15 is one of my favorite verses about giving thanks, and I think it is a wonderful verse to bridge the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

Of course, thanksgiving is not to be limited to special occasions. A spirit of gratitude should guide us through every day of our lives. When Jesus healed the ten leprous men in Luke 17, only one of them came back to give him thanks. The response Jesus gave lets us know without a doubt that Jesus expects us to be thankful for what he has done for us.

The ways that we can give thanks to God for what he has done for us in Jesus are many. Let’s name just a few: church attendance, singing (both private and corporate), praying, giving to the Lord’s work, being generous to the poor and being a witness to others about the goodness of God. What can you add to this list?

Let’s always strive to stop grumbling and complaining and instead live a lifestyle of giving thanks to God for all the ways that he has blessed us. Happy Thanksgiving!