Reasons for Giving Thanksby: Pastor Charles Stanley

Reasons for Giving Thanksby: Pastor Charles Stanley

READ Psalm 92:1-5 NKJV1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, 3 On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. 4 For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. 5 O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.
What motivates us to express gratitude to God? We often remember to thank Him when something positive happens in our life. But 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all things, which includes difficult times as well as happier circumstances. Of course, thanking God for something painful may seem illogical? But it is not. There are a number of reasons why, no matter what we are going through, it truly is? Good to give thanks to the Lord? (Psalm 92:1 NIV).The first reason is stated in Psalm 107:1, which tells us to ?give thanks to the Lord, for He is good (emphasis added).? Even though life may be difficult, our hope and joy remain because we serve the eternal, omniscient, omnipotent God of love.Second, our gratitude magnifies the Lord. He is glorified when we acknowledge His goodness and thank Him for His continual blessings. God is also pleased when, even in difficult times, we obediently thank Him.Third, thankfulness reinforces our faith. When we remember how God has met our needs, protected us, and answered cries for help, our trust in Him is strengthened.Recalling His faithfulness in the past equips us to face the future. In addition, our spirit rejoices when we dwell on who the Lord is, what He has done, and what He will do.It's easy to be grateful when we receive something we have desired for a long time. But God wants us to express thanksgiving in everything. Meditate on His goodness, faithfulness, sovereignty, and sure promises? And offer Him your thanks. Jude 1:24-25 NKJVGlory to God
24 Now to Him who is able to keep you[a] from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior,[ Who alone is wise,[c]Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power,[d] Both now and forever. Amen.

1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!Psalm 105: 1-2 NKJV22 "Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: 23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God."Psalm 50:22-23 NKJV1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;[a] We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.Psalm 100 NKJV

An exhortation to praise God, and rejoice in him.
This song of praise should be considered as a prophecy, and even used as a prayer, for the coming of that time when all people shall know that the Lord he is God, and shall become his worshippers, and the sheep of his pasture. Great encouragement is given us, in worshipping God, to do it cheerfully. If, when we strayed like wandering sheep, he has brought us again to his fold, we have indeed abundant cause to bless his name. The matter of praise, and the motives to it, are very important. Know ye what God is in himself, and what he is to you. Know it; consider and apply it, then you will be more close and constant, more inward and serious, in his worship. The covenant of grace set down in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, with so many rich promises, to strengthen the faith of every weak believer, makes the matter of God's praise and of his people's joys so sure, that how sad so ever our spirits may be when we look to ourselves, yet we shall have reason to praise the Lord when we look to his goodness and mercy, and to what he has said in his word for our comfort.