As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, I hope that you will take time to reflect on being thankful to God. David wrote in Psalm 100 that we should shout triumphantly to the Lord, serve Him with gladness, sing joyful songs to Him and acknowledge that He is God. We should enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Why? Because we are His creation and because we are His. Because God is good. Because God’s love is eternal. And because God’s faithfulness enduring through every generation. But if that’s not reason enough, here are 15 other verses for what we should be thankful to God:
(For each scripture reference, hover your mouse over it to read the verse from the Holman Christian Standard Bible)
- From , God thought about every single detail before creating us and then made us so unique that there can never be another person exactly like you. You were purposefully made and you are a masterpiece of His creation. There isn’t one part of you that God doesn’t care about. He knows everything about you – nothing is hidden or secret. We can’t go anywhere that He is not there with us.
- In we find that in God we have forgiveness of sin and redemption in abundance. The psalmist understand that without God’s forgiveness, not one single person would be able to stand before God because we are all sinners. (). A humble and contrite heart will always find forgiveness and redemption because God’s love for us is faithful.
- tells us that God’s unconditional love for you is eternal. It never changes. It isn’t dependent upon how much you love Him. His love for you never falters and it never ends.
- tells us that God’s faithfulness endures forever – even when we are not faithful to Him. When we stumble and try to do life on our own, God always pursues and calls us back. He is never unfaithful.
- , tells us that our hope is in God when we are discouraged, depressed, worn out, lonely, worried, or fearful.
- tells us that God has good plans for us. Plans that are meant to give us a hope and future. We may not understand why we are going through a difficult time, but we can know that God always works things out for our good. He never purposefully causes things that are meant to bring us disaster.
- tells us that God is our refuge and strength. He is always present when we are in trouble and He will help us.
- Â says we shouldn’t fear because God is with us. We don’t need to be dismayed because He is God and He will give us the strength we need and the help we need. He will hold us up when we can’t hold ourselves us.
- tells us we don’t need to fear when put our trust in God — no matter who does what to us or who says what about us. God is in control. In fact, Jesus said in that we are blessed when other people revile, persecute, and say bad things about us without any truth when it is done for His sake.
- tells us that God is our Shepherd who cares for us, provides for our every need. He leads and guides us. In Him we find comfort, security, and rest.
- tells us that God is our defender. He’s a stronghold and our salvation. He is our light when times are dark so that we do not need to fear. Even if our own father and mother should abandon us, we can know that God still cares for us (verse 10).
- says that when we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. He doesn’t give us the “brussel sprouts” in life…He gives us the “peach cobber.” Sometimes we pray and pray and ask for something that we think we really want and God doesn’t give us that….instead He gives us something so much better. We just need to trust in Him and do good, commit our ways to Him and then He will act.
- tells us that God is always near when when we call out to Him. He hears us and He is eager to help. He is gracious and compassionate. He is slow to anger and great in faithful love. He is good all the time.
- tells us that God creates everything good. As a child I had a poster that said “God doesn’t make no junk.” So even that family person that is difficult to get along with or the in-law that is constantly judging – remember that God makes everything good. That means that person is a good creation of God and He can also make that relationship good. There is nothing that should be rejected. The tiny word “if” in this verse indications a provisional statement. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving and has been consecrated by the word of God and prayer. So take that difficult person/relationship to God in prayer and when they are being difficult who can silently say: “God don’t make no junk.” Then find a reason to praise God for that person – there’s a reason in there somewhere, even if it’s hidden way down deep inside.
- tells us that God gives us grace freely. It isn’t something we earn. It isn’t something we pay for. God’s grace is free and its given. I don’t know about you, but I need lots of grace, so I’m very thankful that God gives grace freely.
- Perhaps the biggest reason we have to thank God is for sending Jesus to earth. As today comes to an end and the sun comes up tomorrow we will begin the Christmas season (except for the stores who started Christmas back in August). Today we can thank Him for His goodness. In the days ahead we can thank Him for the Christ child born of a virgin and grew up to become the sacrificial payment for our sins so that we could have eternal life as we place our faith and trust in Him. is the biggest reason we have to be thankful today.
So whether this Thanksgiving has your cup running over with thanks and praise or if you’re struggling to find a reason to be thankful, I hope you’ll meditate on these 15 verses and be reminded of just how much we have to be thankful for. I also encourage you to look up each of the Psalms mentioned here and read the complete chapters.
These 16 verses are only a snippet of all the reasons we have to be thankful. What’s your favorite verse that helps you be thankful to God? Share it in the comments.
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BOOKING NOW! Be a host site for the NEW God, Love & Marshmallow Wars Book Tour & Couples Conference:
This event helps couples understand why the daily activities found in the book will equip them to build a stronger marriage and the book provides them with 365 intentional activities to take what they learn at the event and apply it on a daily basis. Through the event, couples will discover the Biblical “why” behind the categories of activities found in the book and the “how” these activities are important to building a stronger marriage. Focus points of the event includes :
- How memorizing scripture together and studying God’s Word together as they study, meditate and apply scriptures related to marriage and life issues will help them develop marriages that honor God.
- Why utilizing fun conversation starters that spark meaningful conversations will keep interest alive as they continually learn new things about each other.
- Why keeping romance alive is essential to intimacy and connectivity.
- How making memories and working together builds relationship investment bonds and how these investment bonds can become the knots that keeps them together through the tough times.
- How they can understand what they are or are not contributing to the marriage as well as how they might be contributing to problems or potential problems within the relationship through the use of targeted, intentional personal reflections
- Why it is important that couples never stop dating and how group dates with Christian friends can be both an encouragement and accountability to their own relationship.
During the event, couples will be given an activity from each focus point to do together, making this event an interactive, fun, and engaging event with practical, hands-on learning. Unlike other couple events that are over when the event ends, couples who attend the GLMW event will be able to apply what they learn when utilizing the book on a daily basis for a year. Since the book is not dated, couples are able to reuse the activities year after year to continue being intentional in strengthening their relationship with each other and with God as they strive to live out God’s design for marriage every day.
Learn more about hosting this event at your church or conference site by clicking here.
About the book: The GLMW book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble
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Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants. Today, Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.
With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities, regardless of size.
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