Give Thanks to the Lord

by Ronnie Hewitt
 
“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.” (1Chronicles 16:34)
 
With Thanksgiving Day approaching, this is an excellent opportunity to stop and remember God’s faithfulness to us in the past, His goodness and mercy in the present, and the hope we have in Christ for the future.
 
Two of God’s primary characteristics are celebrated in the above verse: His goodness and His love. David said that God is good. What does that mean? It means God’s core and character are the embodiment of goodness and righteousness. Because God is so good, we are to give thanks.
 
Scripturally, you will find the ritual of thanksgiving nearly from cover to cover. Individuals offered up sacrifices out of gratitude in the book of Genesis. The Israelites sang a song of thanksgiving as they were delivered from Pharaoh’s army after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Later, the Mosaic Law set aside three separate times each year when the Israelites would gather together. All three of these times: Unleavened Bread/also called the Feast of the Passover (Exodus 12:15-20), Harvest or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36) involved remembering God’s provision and grace.
 
Psalm 106:1, “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
 
Psalm 69:30 says, “I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
 
As God’s people, let us take this opportunity to recapture the specialness and sacredness of giving thanks and praising our God.