Being Thankful - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful.
Romans 1:21

Being Thankful
A lack of thankfulness paves the road that leads away from God. Romans 1 describes a time when people recognized God's power and divine nature through His created works (v. 20). However, two things interfered: they refused to honor Him as He deserved, and they refused to thank Him for anything He had done. This led to foolish thoughts, idol worship, unclean desires, immoral behavior, and ultimately a debased mind that was full of unrighteousness (vv. 22-32).

A spirit of thankfulness has great power. Even in our common tasks it is healthy to say we are thankful for this or that. It prevents us from being self-satisfied and self-sufficient. How many people do we rely upon daily? No one who reads these lines is living a truly independent life, and thankfulness will help us recall this fact.

More importantly, being thankful will keep us spiritually steady. Thankfulness reminds us that we are receivers, that Someone greater than ourselves has done something for us—not only for salvation but for daily blessings. Thankfulness exposes our friends to the secret that there is Another whose hand rests upon us for good. We could say, "It is good this has happened!" or, "It was nice when that took place." But it is much better to say, "I am thankful for how it turned out."

Thankfulness keeps us humble. It forces us to see that God is at work: that without Him we can do nothing, yet with Him all things are possible. Given the thousand little ways in which He daily loads us with His benefits, why should we act as if we have obtained them on our own? Thankful Christians enjoy God's peace in their hearts, both personally and collectively, as the Scriptures say: "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Col. 3:15).

Stephen Campbell