How We Can Glorify God By Giving HimThanks

God loves it when we give Him thanks, and so here are some of the world’s best Bible verses that can help you to be more thankful to God.

In All Things

The Apostle Paul tells us that we should give thanks to God “in all circumstances,” and not just when we’ve been blessed. He writes, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18), but this is nothing new since the psalmist also wrote, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). Clearly, “Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20) is the will of God, but it should come naturally because “he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). If you can’t give thanks to God for His enduring love, which sealed our redemption for eternity through Jesus Christ, then we have either not been reading the Bible or we’re being presumptuous about God’s good grace. That’s why when we come together to worship God as the Body of Christ, we should “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name” (Psalm 110:4).

A Thanksgiving Offering

Think of giving someone a thank you card for something they’ve done or said. I’m sure they appreciate that, but they don’t do it for the thank you cards, but for the simple pleasure of helping others, but God also wants us to give Him thanks for the untold blessings that have come into our life. Psalm 92:1 says, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.” Think of a thank you card as a sacrifice in itself. The psalmist wrote, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God” (Psalm 50:23). The author of Hebrews tells us, “Through him (Jesus Christ) then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb 13:15). Acknowledging His name is giving glory to His name and ascribing all the glory to God alone (Psalm 115:1). Solomon wrote, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov 3:6). Why? When you acknowledge God, your paths will be a lot straighter, and your thankfulness to Him will be all the greater. Think of giving thanks to God as an offering…which of course it is! And you glorify God by giving Him thanks (Psalm 50:23), so offer Him thanksgiving right now, and give glory to God.

Thankfulness

It’s hard to be anxious about tomorrow when you’re thankful today. You already know that tomorrow’s been taken care of, and all the good things and all the bad things that happen to us, will work out for God’s ultimate purpose for us (Rom 8:28). The ancient Israelites didn’t have to be anxious about the manna in the dessert. It was there every morning but the Sabbath, but there are few indications of Israel’s thankfulness. Since they weren’t thankful, they were never satisfied, and they cried out for more, so God sent them quail, and they gorged themselves until it came out of their nostrils! Why? They were not thankful for what they already had. Not one of them had ever starved to death or died of thirst or had their clothes wear out, and yet the Scriptures are almost silent on their giving thanks to God. Philippians 4:6 would have been good counsel from the Apostle Paul who wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Paul was always thankful, even for the hardships, for he bore the marks of Christ, but He could still say, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Cor 1:4). It mattered not whether he was in prison or not; he was always thankful; for the church, and above all, to the Lord Jesus Christ, so “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:18). Since we know that this is the will of God, why not give Him thanks right now!

Conclusion

The next time you come together for worship, try to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name” (1 Chron 16:8)! Giving thanks to God is a sacrifice or offering that is pleasing and acceptable to Him, but I believe humility is the breeding ground for thankfulness, as it recognizes the fact that all we have belongs to God, and to Him we owe all thanks, so “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). And please share these Bible verses about giving thanks with someone you know, and it is my hope that they make it much easier for you to give thanks to God, because “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me” (Psalm 50:23a).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.