Who do you give thanks to? Who do you give your whole heart to? How do you express your thanks? Do you do so in public? Is it in private? Do you express your thanks at all? Do you give thanks to God and praise him for the blessings he has given you?
Giving thanks can be hard for us. Not a quick, simple, rote statement of thank you but a truly heartfelt thanks. There is a difference between thanking someone for refilling your glass of tea and the heartfelt thanks for a glass of water when you have had nothing to drink for a couple days.
Thanking God for his blessings should be at the top of our list of things to do every day. The mere fact we woke up this morning is a blessing from him. One we too often take for granted. We go through life without recognizing all the blessings God has blessed us with. Don’t misunderstand, I get it. We are busy. We have things to do. And we simply assume it will all continue.
Not only should we give thanks, but we should praise God for his blessings. We should also praise him for his mightiness, awesomeness, and for his love for us. There is so much to praise him for.
And notice where the Psalmist says we are to praise and give thanks—in the congregation. That means coming together as his followers to give him thanks and praise. It is not to be done just quietly in our room. We are to come together, what we call worship services today, to sing his praises and give thanks as the body of Christ. It is in our corporate worship that our thanks and praises are multiplied. We should look forward to the opportunity to be with other followers.
I pray we all join with other Christians to praise God. I pray we come together to give God our heartfelt thanks. I pray each one of us decide to participate in corporate worship services. Give God thanks. Praise God. Participate in corporate worship. Join others in praising and thanking God.
Psalm 111:1
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Marty Pressey 