Benefit of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgement of benefits or favour, especially to God.

Thanksgiving comes with knowledge of what God has done or is doing in your life. The psalmist answered this, you can't show appreciation if you don't know what you appreciate God for. Our salvation is worth thanking God for all the time because that is what grants us access into the kingdom of God, through the blood of Jesus Christ.

In 1 Thessalonian 5:18, we see that it is the will of God for us to thank him at all times, whether we are facing eviction, financial or family issues, we should give thanks in everything. 

Psalms 103:1-3, says to bless the Lord with all of our being, this is irrespective of what we are going through in life as we see in Habakkuk 3:17-18. Even if there is no food or money, or if things don't look good from the outside, still we will bless God.

To thank God is to put him first and see him first in everything that ever happens to us. There are so many things that we can be thankful for.

Salvation: One thing that we should be thankful for is God's love, that he lavishes on us through his son Jesus Christ. If only we could remember who we were before he found us and delivered us from the darkness. Our benefits of thanks is our salvation. Has it ever occurred to you that it would never be possible without the love of God and for Christ taking our trouble? 

 
When the peace of Christ rules in our heart, thanksgiving causes an overflow of joy. Even in the darkest time, we can praise God for his love, his sovereignty, and his promises to be near us when we call. We must cultivate the attitude of thanksgiving all the time, even when things are not going our way, Col 3:15-17.

In Luke 17:11-19; we see the ten lepers that cried out and asked Jesus Christ to heal them but only one of them returned to give thanks. I can preach against these other nine lepers that didn't return to give thanks but funny enough we, at times, do the time. We are not always grateful or show that same enthusiasm when giving thanks. Those lepers were crying and asking for help but as soon as they got the help, they were gone, forgetting how they received their healing. We should not allow what we want to become greater than the one who gives it to us. Jesus asked, were they not ten that was healed? Where are the nine?

Psalms 103:1-5, we should never stop blessing God for all his benefits, the psalms say who forgives all our sin. Thanksgiving will remind us of what God had done for us and enable us to count our blessing not our lost. in fact, when counting your blessing you wouldn't see anything that you have lost because the bible says all thing work together for good to them that love the Lord.

Let's look at Exodus 15:20-21, do you know that Israel didn't praise and thank God before the Red Sea had been parted, but only after they had crossed to the other side.  God was still there when many of them were complaining about the sea, the mountain on their left and right and about the Egyptian army that was marching toward them. This is what many of us do. I will praise you and thank you at the end of this challenging. Paul and Silas did the opposite, the bible says that they were beaten, put in prison and chains. Still, they were praising and thanking God. It's good to praise God during trouble but it's better when we allow praise, worship and thanksgiving become our lifestyle.
Bless the Lord for his goodness, bless him and remind yourself of God's grace. Tell yourself that if not for God, where would you be? 

 What are you thanking God for?