Thoughts of Thanksgiving: A Five-Day Devotional by Skip HeitzigSample

Thanking God for What He's Done

When is the right time to give thanks? Many people would probably say right before eating a meal. But read these words from G.K. Chesterton:

You say grace before meals.

All right.

But I say grace before the play and the opera,

And grace before the concert and pantomime,

And grace before I open a book,

And grace before sketching, painting,

Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;

And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

We can—and should—thank God before all these things. Anytime and every time is a good time to give thanks, especially when it's one of the hardest things we can think of doing.

It's during times like those that we need to command our souls to remember God's benefits. This is how David was able to give thanks in Psalm 103 despite his gloomy circumstances: he told his soul to snap out of it and then made a list of the excellent things God had done for him. It's good to take a personal inventory of God's blessings and remember His abundance toward you—to think before you thank. Because when you really think about all the good things God has done in your life, you're going to find that thanking Him comes naturally.

First and foremost on your list of God's blessings ought to be His forgiveness of your sins. David was first thankful that God "forgives all [our] iniquities" (v. 3). Consider how, on the cross, Jesus spread out His arms and said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). He knew that forgiveness is our greatest need. And when He breathed His last, saying, "It is finished!" (John 19:30), He was declaring that the price for our sins had been paid in full.

Surely this is the greatest sacrifice and the greatest gift God could have ever given us. We ought to be grateful for this above all things. I heard about a man who wanted just one word on his tombstone: forgiven. When was the last time you said, "God, thank You for dying on the cross for me so I don't have to go to hell but rather can enjoy a right relationship with You"? We should always thank Him for this indescribable gift.

Why don't you take the time to make a list of His benefits, starting with His forgiveness? You'll be amazed at how quickly you can fill up a piece of paper. I've found that when I begin to list all the things I can thank God for, so many things come to mind that my problems are dwarfed by His goodness.