Living in thanksgiving is a discipline, but the more I study it, the more I realize being thankful is a habit critical to spiritual growth. In fact, thankfulness is absolutely necessary if we want to wisely navigate life with deep satisfaction and victory instead of stumbling through it like a drunken fool. Strong words? Well, they aren’t mine. God’s Word says:
“…although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:21-22
Our greatest ability to experience the benefits of thankfulness is within a strong relationship with God.
Jesus set the standard of how to have a perfectly thankful heart. The Bible reveals Christ—the Creator and Sustainer of all things—giving thanks. As I’ve looked at how Jesus was thankful, it has blown me away and is giving me a perspective about a thankful heart that I’d never before considered.
Jesus gave thanks on several occasions. For example, examples are when He fed the multitudes and when He raised Lazarus from the dead. In both instances, we can learn much from His simple act of giving thanks because His prayers demonstrate His knowledge of the faithfulness of His Father in order to dispel the doubt of those around Him. Let’s take a closer look at both:
Feeding the multitudes. Jesus gave thanks for the bread and fish which fed several thousand hungry folks. (Matthew 15:36, Mark 8:6, John 6) In John’s account, the apostle John describes the location of this event as “where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.” It’s as if the place of thanks is a landmark. Isn’t it interesting that he includes “after the Lord gave thanks” instead of just saying “the place of the miracle of the fishes and loaves?” Jesus, fully human but also fully God—gave thanks and set the example of a grateful heart.
Raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus gave thanks to God BEFORE He raised Lazarus from the dead. (John 11:41-42) His prayer is a reminder to have thankfulness for the faithfulness of God. Trouble often produces faithLESSness in God. Death especially makes us cynical and thankless towards God. Jesus’ prayer of thankfulness was a testimony of God’s faithfulness to all those who were listening:
“Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the PEOPLE who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” John 11:41-42
However, there is a final example of the thankfulness of Jesus that is absolutely mind blowing. It is 100% on point and teaches us a critical lesson that is foundational to this series. At the Last Supper, by far the most remarkable demonstration of the grateful heart of Jesus, was when He gave thanks for the bread and the fruit of the vine. (Matthew 26:27, Mark 14:23, Luke 22:17-19). The Gospel of Luke records:
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:17-19
The fruit of the vine and the bread represent the blood and body of Christ. Was Jesus really thanking His Father for giving Him the opportunity to die? It appears so. Even before Jesus died and was miraculously resurrected, He gave thanks to God for the sacrifice of His own body and blood. Again, His deep knowledge of the faithfulness of His Father gave Him a grateful heart in the face of unimaginable suffering. Mind blowing, right???
What can we learn from the thankful heart of Jesus?
My friend, genuine thankfulness to God produces a life of complete surrender to the Father. Jesus knew His immediate future was to be stripped of His human dignity, tortured, horribly crucified, and to be separated from His Father as He bore the sin of the world. (Mark 6;34; Psalm 22) He knew this ahead of time but yet—He had a thankful heart. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t give us foreknowledge of all of OUR trouble? Yet, because of Jesus, when even the most horrific trials arise—we can be thankful.
When we have gratitude which is grounded in the truth about who God is—and a working knowledge of our glorious purpose—we know we can ALWAYS trust in the faithfulness of God.
Jesus’ example of a thankful heart inspires us to be thankful for the faithfulness of God!
In the remainder of this series we are going to look at some of the benefits of having a thankful heart when we’re going through affliction. This study has given me great hope for navigating a world which is full of suffering.
