How to be Thankful (2025)

Intro

This year has been a little different when it comes to the Thanksgiving season at Genesis. Usually by now I would have preached a few sermons on thankfulness and likely round it out either this week or next. However, this year we have had much going on! I have missed a service for a preaching appointment and we have had guest missionaries. So, realistically today is the only Thanksgiving sermon you may get in 2025. So, buckle up, we may be here a while!

I am kidding, I don’t plan on being long.

When I think about the Thanksgiving season and thankfulness, each year I try to think practically. When preparing for today, the thought came to my mind “We cannot be thankful unless we truly know how to be Biblically thankful” thus, this devotion was born.

We know Scripture demands a thankful heart, passages like 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” And Philippians 4:6–7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” These exist to show us that thankfulness is not an option for a Christian. But, if we are careless, we will not be Biblically thankful, we will rather be bitter with a thankful mask.

Look with me in Scripture and see how thankfulness can be achieved.

Recognize God

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

The first step to being a thankful person is to recognize the One to whom we direct our thankfulness, God.

It is to God that we are thankful, so we need to know who He is and why He is worthy of our thankfulness!

Who He Is

So, who is God?

Scripture is not silent when it comes to descriptive words to define God.

Hebrews 12:2 Author & Finisher

John 6:35 Bread of Life

Romans 8:29 Conformer

Genesis 1:1 Creator

Psalm 116:8 Deliverer

Deuteronomy 33:27 Everlasting

Isaiah 6:1 Exalted

Deuteronomy 7:9 Faithful & True

John 15:1 Gardener

Colossians 1:18 Head of the Body

Exodus 3:14 I Am

Psalm 7:17 Just

Psalm 47:7 King Over All

John 4:10 Living Water

2 Corinthians 5:17 Makes Us New

Ephesians 4:13 Mature

Psalm 119:151 Near

John 16:33 Overcomes the World

Ruth 4:14 Provider

Zephaniah 3:17 Quiets Us

2 Corinthians 3:18 Reflects

Psalm 103:12 Removes Transgressions

2 Corinthians 4:16 Renews

Exodus 15:2 Strong Defender

John 14:26 Teacher

Philippians 3:21 Transformed

James 1:17 Unchanging

John 15:5 Vine

Isaiah 25:8 Wipes Away Tears

Colossians 3:4 Your Life

Isaiah 9:7 Zealous

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Church, do we believe this? Do we believe that God us all of these things to us? If so, then we should have no issue being thankful to Him on a consistent basis!

All of this wrapped up means simply that God is Good!

What He Does

So, what does this Good God Do?

1 John 4:9–10 “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

He love us. He provided a way to forgiveness for us. He provided a way that we could be saved and have eternal heaven as a reward.

He sent His Son Jesus who died on the cross as the sacrifice you and I needed for forgiveness for sin.

John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

He came not to condemn, but to save.

That is a God to whom we can be continually thankful!

What He Will Continue to Do

So, Jesus is in Heaven now, so what will God continue to do for us?

John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

Jesus is preparing a place for you and I to dwell eternally. For this we can be thankful.

He promises us that not only has He gone to prepare a place, but that the place He is preparing us for us and He will come get us and take us there!

Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Oh Church, God is so much to us and for us. He has done so much for us. And, He will continue to do so.

So, this is the God to whom we direct our thankful hearts and voices.

But, practically, how?

Be Intentional

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Philippians 4:6–7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 100:4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”

Jeremiah 33:11 “The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Be. Intentional.

Church, this isn’t always easy, not every situation seems to be cause for thanksgiving.

But, no matter the trivial problems of this life (even when they don’t seem trivial) are nothing compared to the good God that we serve.

Your life could be crumbling, and church at times it will seem like it is, but God is still there watching out for your better interests, He is still good.

So, make the choice, constantly, continually, to be thankful.

Raise your voice in praise to God. Be thankful with your actions. With your words. With your giving. Show God that you are thankful for what He has done by living your life in a way that reflects His Son, Jesus Christ. Telling God often that you are thankful for not just what He does for you, but for who God is!

Be intentional. Be thankful. Not just today, not just this week, but with your life. God requires it.

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Conclusion

Maybe you aren’t thankful. Maybe you need to repent of the sin of unthankfulness and commit to God that, with His help, you will be a thankful person. Thankful to God for who He is, what He does, and the hope of what He will continue to do.

Maybe you have never experienced the love of Jesus through repentance, maybe you have never made the decision to leave your sin and follow Jesus.

Would today be the day that you begin that journey of thankfulness and repentance?

*Salvation plea*