“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4, 5
This year during Thanksgiving week, I’m going to try something a little different and invite you to join me. The majority of our country will take time to celebrate a holiday called Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure how many will use the time to give thanks. And of those who do, many will concentrate on the things for which they are thankful, which is what I’ve done in the past. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. I believe God loves it when we take delight in His gifts to us. After all, the Bible tells us that all good and perfect gifts come from above (James 1:17).
But this year I’d like to concentrate on the One who is worthy of receiving my thanks. The difference may seem minuscule. Do I thank Him for giving me life, or do I praise Him as the giver of life? It almost seems like splitting hairs, doesn’t it? The difference is our focus. Do I focus on me and what I’ve received, or do I focus on God? To put it another way, do I love God because He gives me awesome gifts,or do I love the gifts because they come from the heart of my Heavenly Father?
This week’s verse gives us a start on attributes of God. It says the Lord’s love lasts forever. That’s a long time! And His love is perfect, unconditional, complete and whole. This verse also reminds us that He will always be faithful. This verse alone gives us plenty of reasons to praise our God. I plan to take this week thinking about God and all His attributes. Perhaps I’ll find some time to sit down and list as many attributes of God as I can think of. Or maybe I’ll grab a concordance and look up verses listing attributes of God. What are some other ways we can concentrate on the Giver instead of the gifts? May God richly bless you this Thanksgiving with all good and perfect gifts!