Generally, when we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America, we express thanks for many things and then return to our daily lives. However, I would like us to have something much deeper than that; I want to live in a constant state of gratitude and thankfulness.

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land and built the Temple, the Levites no longer needed to pack up the Tent of Meeting and carry it through the wilderness. So God gave them a new responsibility to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the Lord. In addition to purifying all the holy things, the Levites were “to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening” (1 Chronicles 23:30).[1]

It is time for the Body of Christ to enter into this ministry of the Levitical priesthood and find a new expression in our worship and in our giving of thanks to our God. Rather than just having a day of Thanksgiving, I want to see us launch our hearts and minds into a life of real gratitude before the Lord, giving Him daily thanks and praise.

We see this in the Scriptures.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning

And Your faithfulness by night,

With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,

With resounding music upon the lyre.

For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,

I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

How great are Your works, O LORD

Your thoughts are very deep. (Psalm 92:1–5)

Often on Thanksgiving Day, families go around the table expressing thanks for specific things. But in truth, the Hebrew word for thanksgiving has greater meaning than that. A better expression for us is gratitude. We do not want to just say “thank you” for things; we want to develop an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Like the Levitical priests, we should be deeply grateful in our continual giving of thanks to the Lord our God who created us and redeemed us. Gratitude is not just an action; it is an emotion that is expressed from the depth of your being. We see this expressed when David danced before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14).

Gratitude is an ongoing physical expression to God for all that He is. It is an expression that says, “You are the Creator of the Universe. There is no one else like You. All things that exist around me and through me and in me—in both the material and spiritual worlds—You made and provided in the earth for me. I am grateful to You for all these things. No one else could do this or be this other than You.” That is the level of gratitude I am looking for.

Write down what you are grateful for. Focus on the things God has done in your life that are just amazing.  Give thanks for even the air we breathe. He has provided all things for us that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Therefore, the list should be unending with the praise and thanksgiving we give to Him. We are to be overflowing with gratitude (Colossians 2:7). I bless your Thanksgiving celebration with your family and friends. Let it be a day filled with gratitude.

Listen to this entire message: GIG224 Thanksgiving—A Time of Gratitude

[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).

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