"And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:20 NLT)

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. The stress of planning, preparation, who sits where, "why am I at the kid’s table," "I don’t like squash," "Oh my I ate way too much," can all be put away for another year.

There are four types of people connected with Thanksgiving.

There are those who are constantly complaining and grumbling.  Have we met anybody like this? It seems like they can brighten up a room just by leaving it.

Then there are others who live lives with a lack of appreciation. They don’t complain, but they never thank God for His obvious blessings. That’s a little better, but not much better.

Then there are people who thank God for obvious blessings. When something good happens, they’re grateful. That’s a better level. But we are not yet quite there.

The highest level is to be grateful for all things at all times. Good and bad. We thank God for His provision in the good times and we thank God for His grace and mercy in the tough times. That is the secret of a happy and productive life.

Thanksgiving needs to be expressed.

God appreciates our thanksgiving. It lifts Him up and it glorifies Him. And thanksgiving endears him to us. It draws us closer.

How do we express thanksgiving?

When we spend time with Him (not just 1 hour a week).

When we forgive others.

When we serve in His church.

When we share His Plan of salvation.

When we reach out to hurting people.

When we give God our best.

When we praise Him enthusiastically from the heart.

Thanksgiving needs to be abundant.

The blessings of life – Did anyone ever thank God for a sink full of dirty dishes? Who does? But we should. A sink full of dirty dishes usually means that we have been blessed by God with daily food & water. Do we realize that two thirds of the world goes to bed hungry every night? It seems so simple.

The burdens of life - In our weakness God can make us strong. When we are struggling God is able to work in our lives. He helps us through times that we could have never faced on our own. We do not have to be thankful for our problems but rather - IN THEM. And being thankful in our daily experience of good and bad allows God to use "all things" for His greater good.

The benefits of life - When we focus on what we lack, we fail to see ALL the blessings we DO have. We are constantly adding to our prayer list but more than anything we should be adding to our praise list. And as Christians there are other benefits of life. We can be sure that we are forgiven and free.

Thanksgiving is expected.

It shows growth. When we realize how blessed we are by others and by God and are able to express that - we are growing. We are growing in our relationship with God and with each other.

It shows giving - When we realize how much God has done for us and how much he continues to do, we should be more than happy to give something back to him. This comes through our time and also our financial giving. Someone has said that for Thanksgiving to be real Thanks-giving, there must be "Thanks" and there must be "Giving."

When we give thanks for what we have, we think about how God is the great giver of the greatest gifts. Our anxiety is addressed by giving thanks. When we thank God for all He has done and given to us, we focus our attention on His grace and power. When we focus on God’s abundant grace and blessing, all we should see is Jesus Christ.

The word "thank" and the word "think" are from the same root word, and this is no accident. The two words have much in common. Thankfulness grows out of thoughtfulness. Our focus on giving thanks should cause each of us of think carefully about all God has done for us, is doing now for us, and will continue to do into eternity. It is a promise. Depend on it.

This week pray for people who do not know Jesus as Savior. Don't stop there...Get up and go...Do something about it. When we share Jesus our thanksgiving is expressed. Our thanksgiving is abundant. And our thanksgiving when someone accepts Jesus as Savior is expected. Pray for the homeless, the poor, those in hospitals, broken families, broken relationships. Don’t stop there. Get up and do something. In each of these as in many other situations God will show Himself powerful and mighty if we let Him. Then God is glorified. Our thanksgiving is expressed, it is abundant, and it is expected.

Jesus is the anchor for our soul in the storms of life and for the sunny days too. God’s plan is to add to our life to HIS glory, not make a fuss over us. We are God’s special and best creation. God wants us focused on Jesus Christ. God wants us set apart for HIS purpose and plan. God is not so interested in making us happy and healthy as He is in making us holy.

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT)