“Then we, Your people, the ones You love and care for, will thank You over and over and over. We’ll tell everyone we meet how wonderful You are, how praiseworthy You are!” (Psalm 79:13 MSG)
And just like that, we’ve come to the end of November and our month-long endeavor of gratitude. Though the month concludes, our task remains unfinished. We are instructed to give thanks over and over and over. We don’t stop giving thanks. Not in this life and not in the next. The calendar page turns and the season changes, but our hearts remain grateful.
This makes sense when we remember our God is entirely, eternally faithful. His character and loyalty to His people never fades, flickers or wanes. His love for us remains steadfast and that’s enough resources for us to give thanks from here to forever.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
(Psalm 107:1 NIV)
Our thanksgiving instructions never expire. How could they? His love for us has no end date. Our gratitude should be just as prolific.
Don’t leave thanksgiving here in November. Tuck it in your pocket and carry it into advent. Kneel at the nativity with thanks and wonder. Walk into the New Year with a grateful heart. Let Lent find you repentant and relieved, ever thankful for God’s grace. May Passover, Good Friday and Easter morning all still be marked by your great gratitude. Commit now to walk out every day of 2021 with thanksgiving at the core of your story. Build a strong habit of giving thanks. Learn to live in ongoing gratitude because it’s a task we’ll never complete.
Lord, let us never tire of giving You thanks. We are convinced this instruction is more than an annual day or even month. Gratitude is essential. We can not afford to cancel it or even postpone it to another less-challenging year. Gratitude is our life-preserver, pulling us back from the brink into Your presence. Help us find ways to give thanks every day. Keep gratitude in our hearts always. Help us see the gifts and articulate thanks, even as the season changes. We are forever indebted to You, our gracious, generous and good Father. We’ll give thanks endlessly in response. Amen.