Ways to Say Thank You
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Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
The psalmist observed that the habit of giving thanks to the Lord is good. For us to be thankful brings joy to the heart of our God. For us to develop the habit of being thankful will enable us to overcome our negative inclinations and will lead us to face life with a positive attitude. For us to be thankful will be a blessing to others. It is indeed a good thing to give thanks to the Lord.
It is good for us to give thanks to God for being the kind of God he is. We should be thankful for a God who revealed his love in coming as a God/Man in Jesus Christ and then sending back His Holy Spirit to dwell and empower us to live overcoming lives.
We should be thankful to God for the fellowship of the church. Through the church we have heard the good news of God’s love. In the fellowship of the church we receive the strength we need for living a victorious life.
We should give thanks to God for our country and for all good men and women who live and work to make it a better country.
We should give thanks to God for the members of our family who have sustained us and who now help to give us a reason for being.
It is a good thing to give thanks to God for all the good things in life.
If it is a good thing to give thanks to God, what is the proper form for the expression of our gratitude? It is interesting to note the various forms of thanksgiving revealed in the lives of the great characters of the Bible.
Thee Mighty Men of David
13 Once during the harvest, when David was at the cave of Adullam, the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim. The Three (who were among the Thirty—an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there.
14 David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem.
15 David remarked longingly to his men, “Oh, how I would love some of that good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem.”
16 So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as an offering to the Lord.
17 “The Lord forbid that I should drink this!” he exclaimed. “This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.” So David did not drink it. These are examples of the exploits of the Three.
David, the future king of Israel, was weary in body and perhaps faint in mind as he fought the Philistines. He probably was both hungry and thirsty, and in this condition he expressed appreciation for the water of the well in Bethlehem where he grew up as a boy. Three of his mighty men decided that if their leader wanted water from the well of Bethlehem, it would be given to him. They broke through the enemy line at the risk of their lives and returned to the camp of David with water from the well. We can only imagine the pleasure that flooded the heart of David as he recognized the devotion of these men. He responded to their generosity and bravery with an act of gratitude and thanksgiving that reveals something about the heart of this great leader. He refused to drink the water that had been secured at the risk of the lives of his men.
In this incident we have a most beautiful expression of the thanksgiving of men for their leader and of the leader for those who loved him.
Crabtree, T. T.. The Zondervan 2017 Pastor's Annual: An Idea and Resource Book (p. 371). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
2. The Sinful Woman
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.
37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.
38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other.
42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.
46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
In this description of the incident that took place in the house of the Pharisee, we have a condensed account of what happened.
In some unexplained manner, our Lord had revealed his divine compassion for the sinful woman who was an outcast. She perceived that God’s attitude toward her was one of compassion rather than condemnation.
This sinful woman approached our Lord in such a manner that she was granted the gift of forgiveness. She was assured that God would not be vindictive toward her and that she was cleansed and accepted.
She expressed her thanksgiving to the Lord by bringing an alabaster flask of ointment to anoint the Savior’s feet. While this may seem strange in today’s Western world, it was a common courtesy extended to those who walked either barefooted or with sandals in those days. The Pharisee had not extended this common courtesy to our Lord, but the sinful woman came to express her thanksgiving and her gratitude. The service she rendered was normally rendered by a servant. As she anointed Jesus’ feet, her emotions of gratitude and thanksgiving overflowed, and she found herself weeping, her tears falling on Jesus’ feet. In desperation and devotion, she wiped these tears away with her hair. It is a beautiful scene of sincere devotion and thanksgiving.
3. The Samaritan Leper
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.
12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance,
13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!”
16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
In this incident from the life of our Savior, we can see a reflection of the attitude of many of us.
The response of the nine. All ten lepers who pled for mercy received cleansing. Nine out of the ten did not return to the Lord to give him thanks for the miracle he had performed in their lives. This is a picture of the response we all sometimes make.
The thanksgiving of the Samaritan, a leper. When one of the ten discovered the wonderful healing he had received, he immediately turned back to express his gratitude. He praised God with a loud voice and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.
The Scriptures tell us that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of light. How long has it been since your gratitude took the form of falling on your face before God in the private place of prayer to thank him and praise him and rejoice in his goodness to you? And how long has it been since you lifted your voice in the presence of others to give thanks and praise to God for his goodness to you?
4. Zacchaeus
8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Zacchaeus was despised by the people of his community because of his profession. He experienced the love of Jesus Christ and experienced forgiveness and acceptance. As an indication of the genuineness of his experience, Zacchaeus changed the course of his life and the manner of his conduct. What have you given to indicate your gratitude?
I’m reminded of a story I heard years ago of a new convert from Africa. She was attending a worship service in which a mission offering was being taken. She had no money. So, when the offering plate came to where she was, she placed it on the ground and stood in the center of it as an indication that she wanted to give herself totally to the mission and purpose of her Lord.
5. Paul wrote his own Thanksgiving letter
1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.
3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.
Phil
Philippians has been called Paul’s epistle of joy. The reason for his writing this epistle was the gratitude of his heart for a gift received from his beloved friends in the church at Philippi.
10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me.
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.
12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
How long has it been since you have written a letter, a card, and email or a text to express gratitude to your parents, spouse, or children, or to people who have blessed you in life?
Crabtree, T. T.. The Zondervan 2017 Pastor's Annual: An Idea and Resource Book (p. 372). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Conclusion:
How do you say thank you? With words? With your face? With your deeds? By the service you render to others? The thankful heart will find a way to express deep gratitude toward those who have blessed them.
During this season of Thanksgiving, take time to say thank you in unique and special ways.
I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I conclude by saying thank you to you for you allowing God to work in you and following our leadership as we follow Christ. Thank you for taking care of my needs and praying and caring for me and my family.