Protocols, Postures and Power of Thanksgivingಮಾದರಿ

WHAT YOUR THANKSGIVING REVEALS (2)

Thanksgiving demonstrates that you are not forgetful. Remembering well, to thank well, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2, KJV). Gratitude depends upon recollection — names, details, some mercies. Paul's "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" was not a formula; it rested upon remembered effort, love, and faith. I want you to have intentional remembrance: who prayed for you when you were in need, who opened the door, who said truth that led you through. General remembrance offers general thanksgiving; specific remembrance offers specific praise to God and men.

Thanksgiving also indicates you are thorough. Thorough individuals carry catalogues of whom and for what they thank God and men. We read entire pages in the newspapers dedicated to thanksgiving after massive happenings; if we thank men, how much more should we to return to give praise to the God from heaven? Distinguished men know who to thank. Do not bumble through life as if the world owes you an explanation. That entitlement is satanic; it drains the heart of humility. So look back in your journey and trace the fingerprints of God — then react. Allow thanksgiving to be your guide so pride, carelessness, and forgetfulness are not your masters.

Lastly, thanksgiving shows that you do not treat people generally. There are nuances in how we say thank you. There are those whom one can thank with a letter, there are those whom one can thank with a personal visit, and there are those who need a delegation and a gift due to the magnitude of who they are and what they have accomplished. Wisdom recognizes differences. If you have been wished on your birthday by a state governor through his presence, you will not "forget" to thank him; but men and women forget to thank the Lord who holds their breath. I want you to thank proportionally as per weight — right words, right ways, right timing — so that your thanksgiving never offends by being light. Give best thanksgiving to God and give people their due honour.

THOUGHT TO PONDER: Whom have I failed to remember accurately — and what specific mercy do I need to name before God today? How will I match the “weight” of my thanksgiving to the weight of what was done?

PRAYER: Father, awaken my memory and thoroughness. Teach me to thank rightly — with the right weight, words, and ways. I reject entitlement and choose honour and gratitude, in Jesus’ name. Amen.