Giving Thanks

By Paul Chappell

"For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?"

1 Corinthians 10:30

In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, Illinois. Edward Spencer, a nearby ministerial student, saw the event and waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged and he had to live with complications for the rest of his life. Years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.

Giving thanks, even for such a monumental task as saving someone's life, seems to go unnoticed today. And if something so large as this can go unthanked, how many smaller acts of kindness go unnoticed on a daily basis?

How often do you give God thanks? God desires that we would live in a spirit of thankfulness each day, daily pointing out kindness from others and being grateful for the goodness of others and from Him.

When was the last time you made a special note to thank God for all He's done for you? We may say thanks for a meal or express gratitude after an answer to prayer, but how often do we make time to thank God? God has blessed each of us in so many countless ways and deserves constant praise from our lips.

Take time today to thank God for His goodness. Carve out a time in your schedule when you can be alone with God and reflect on His blessings. Perhaps write them down. You'll soon find that God's goodness cannot be fathomed. Make a point of constantly living in a state of thankfulness and never go a day without giving God thanks.