Dearly Beloved,
Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. By the special grace of the almighty God, the theme for this month shall be THANKSGIVING.
UNDERSTANDING THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving (unto God) is an important attribute expected of everyone whether or not they are believers. More so, for believers, it is an act never to be taken lightly. The account of the bible in Luke 17: 17-18 highlights God’s view on our attitude towards thanksgiving: “17Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”. So, as you can imagine, God Himself gets really confounded by our inability to give thanks — just one of ten lepers returned to Jesus to say, “thank you”!
WHY MUST WE GIVE THANKS?
There are countless reasons why we must give thanks. In fact, the bible encourages Christians in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 on the need to give thanks at ALL times. So, let’s look at some of the reasons why we must give thanks.
- God commanded it. This is enough reason to give thanks (Psalms 50:14, Psalm 100:4).
- Thanksgiving puts God at the centre of our successes (1 Corinthians 15:57, Psalms 144:1).
- It’s one way that readily guarantees more opportunities for thanksgiving.
SOME ENEMIES OF THANKSGIVING
Following on from our bible reading in Luke 17:17-18, one could ask: why did the rest of the lepers not return to give thanks? Let’s look at a few reasons why some people don’t bother to give thanks:
- A sense of entitlement. The feeling of “I should get what I want after all …” (Luke 15:11)
- The temptation to trivialize the gift and/or the giver (Matthew 25:24).
- A desire to take God’s glory. This is also akin to pride (Daniel 4:30, Judges 7:2).
So, as you transition through the rest of the days of this month, please spare some time to reflect on God’s faithfulness as well as his innumerable blessings upon your life especially in these COVID-19 times. As you do so, ensure to back up the moments of reflection with thanksgiving.
Happy new month!
Yours in HIS service,
David Ndukwu
