Thankful EverydaySample

Thankful Because We Are His

We may not always feel very thankful as we go through life in a fallen world, but the Bible teaches each that we should be thankful in all things. Of course, this is not to say that we should be thankful for all things, but rather that we have reasons to be thankful during all things. Psalm 100 offers some insights as to why this is true.

In addition to yesterday's truth, the One with whom we have a relationship as our Lord is the one true God over all things. We also learn from this Psalm that we are His. We belong to God, who is overall creation. He has taken a special interest in us and has claimed us for His own. The Psalm says that we are His people and the sheep of his pasture. He made us, and we have been redeemed by Him. We are not a random accident, nor are we left alone to fend for ourselves in a sometimes very harsh world. We are people who belong to The Almighty God, and He is both our creator and our active shepherd as we go through life.

There is a story of a little boy who built a little wooden boat. He loved the boat and enjoyed playing with it in a creek behind his house. One day, after a rain, the creek was moving faster than normal, and the boat floated away from him down the stream. He ran after it and finally caught up with it, but a much bigger boy was playing with it, having found it tangled in some branches in the creek. The little boy ran home, broke open his piggy bank, and got all of his money. He ran back to the older boy and asked if he could buy the boat with his money. The older boy took the money, and the little boy had his boat again. Filled with joy as he returned home, the little boy said to his boat, "I made you, and I have bought you, and now you are completely mine!" The God who made us has also bought us with Christ paying the cost of our sins upon the cross, and we are completely His. That is worth being thankful for no matter the circumstances!