ThankfulnessNäide

God wants us to be thankful

We teach our children to say thank you if other people give them something or do something for them. For most people, that’s a basic politeness rule. The Bible seems to say the same: “give thanks…” not only to other people, but also to God! After all, there is a whole list of good things we receive from Him. Even life itself comes from the Lord:  

“For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light” (Psalm 36:9).

It would be really strange to thank other people for their goodness towards us, but not God. And yet, we need to be reminded of this basic ‘rule’ every now and then.

The Bible exhorts us to not only thank God when things are going especially well, but “always and for everything” (Ephesians 5:20). This goes beyond basic politeness; this is about an attitude of the heart. And living such a life of thankfulness is not always easy.

Can you list five things you could thank God for?