The Sacrifice Of Thanksgiving
Psalm 107
The word thanksgiving is used throughout scripture. We see it used in various forms; thank, thanked, thankful, thankfulness, thanks, thanksgivings, and thankworthy. We have munch to be thankful for, and we are to continually express our thankfulness to God for His goodness in our lives.
Why is thanksgiving intertwined with sacrifice? Sacrifice is an offering, something we are to freely give. In the Old Testament they had various sacrifices; but the sacrifice of thanksgiving was to be a time of rejoicing and declaring His goodness without restraint. The word thanksgiving means- confession of thankfulness, song of thanksgiving with a focus on personal gratitude. “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 104:33
In the New Testament one of the definitions of thankful is the Greek word Eucharisteo. This is where we get the word Eucharist from. It is our time of communion when we are remembering the Lord’s death and resurrection. This word means to give thanks, render gratitude with words that express our emotion. Our gratitude and thanksgiving should be a way of life, not something we celebrate on a single day. We celebrate and give the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving daily. Our sacrifice is our offering that we are freely giving.
There are many times when “life just seems to happen.” Pain and tragedy come crashing into our lives without warning. It comes as an uninvited guest, but we learn to endure the situation while we continue to offer our thanksgiving to the One who is walking through the valley with us. David continually gave praise and thanksgiving while in the midst of his greatest challenges. When we cease being grateful is when we begin to allow fear, pain, and bitterness to take root in our hearts.
The holiday season is a time of joy and celebrating for many; however it can also bring painful memories to others. Maybe it is a recently lost loved one, or you are alone without family. These are challenging times to get through. Remember the old hymn, Count Your Blessings? It may sound trite, but I can attest to the reality of naming my blessings one by one. It brought healing to my heart even though my tears were still a daily flow. Let healing come into your brokenness. He will begin to remind you of all that He has done in your life.
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Hebrews 13:15