3 Facts about God That Will Give You a Better Thanksgiving
Introduction
One of the great Bible verses for thankfulness is Psalm 100:4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
But there’s an equally poignant verse just after it that explains why we should give thanks to God. Here’s verse 5.
“For the LORD is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
In this post, we’ll reveal the three facts about God’s character described in this verse that will strengthen your faith and help you be more thankful this holiday season.
Why Is God’s Character So Important at Thanksgiving?
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
What you think about God is immensely important because it will shape how you respond to events around you, words said to you, and the people sitting around the dinner table with you. Whether you respond with grace, defensiveness, or anger will all depend on what you think God is like.
What are these characteristics of God?
The LORD is good
His love endures forever
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
We’ll expound on each of these and even give you a Thanksgiving prayer you can recite this season to focus your heart and mind on God.
1. The Lord is Good
There’s a good reason the author started with this one. God wants good things for you because he is good.
Here are ten other thesaurus words for “good”: excellent, exceptional, favorable, great, marvelous, positive, satisfying, superb, valuable, wonderful. Imagine describing somebody using these terms. That’s what God is like.
This fact is so crucial to our faith that it was the first thing that Satan questions in tempting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The serpent tempted them with this line of thought, “God doesn’t want you to know good and evil because if you do, then you will be like him. He’s holding back. He doesn’t want the best for you.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
But that’s a lie. God wants good things for you because he is good.
Thanksgiving Prayer: “God, thank you that you are good and you are perfect. Thank you that you want good things for me because you are good.”
2. His Love Endures Forever
Sometimes Thanksgiving dinner can feel like it lasts foooor-ever. But God’s love for you… it actually lasts forever. And that’s a long, long time.
What does this statement mean? Two things:
a) God loves you
Most of you have probably heard this before but have a hard time believing it. God is crazy about you. He knows every hair on your head. He watches over you. He loves you with a kind of love you’ve probably never experienced.
b) He’s going to keep loving you no matter what you do.
Think of the phrase “endures forever.” That’s a pretty long time. That means God loves you today, tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that. He’ll love you tomorrow if you’re the best person in the world, and he’ll love you tomorrow if you’re the worst person in the world. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you any less or more than he does at this very moment. That’s pretty amazing.
Thanksgiving Prayer: “God, thank you that you love me unconditionally. Thank you that you will continue to love me no matter what I do because you are good.”
3. His Faithfulness Continues Through All Generations
What exactly is faithfulness? It means that God keeps his promises. So, you can understand this verse to say, “He keeps his promises through all generations.”
So, what promises has God made to you?
He is always with you (Joshua 1:9)
He is kind and compassionate (Isaiah 54:10)
He designed me for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10)
He gives you power for your life (2 Timothy 1:7)
His presence can bring you joy (Psalm 16:11)
He will give you wisdom (James 1:5)
God will keep every one of those promises and so many more.
But it doesn’t stop with just you. God will be faithful to your kids, nieces, and nephews, to their kids, and to their kids’ kids. His love, goodness, and trustworthiness are traditions He passes on from generation to generation.
Thanksgiving Prayer: “God, thank you that you always keep your promises. I can rely on you to be trustworthy and faithful to me in my life.”
Closing
Here are three characteristics of God for which you can be thankful this year.
God is good – “The Lord is good.”
God loves you – “His love endures forever.”
God keeps his promises – “His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Here are three prayers to recite over the next few days.
“God, thank you that you are good and you are perfect. Thank you that you want good things for me because you are good.”
“God, thank you that you love me unconditionally. Thank you that you will continue to love me no matter what I do because you are good.”
“God, thank you that you always keep your promises. I can rely on you to be trustworthy and faithful to me in my life.”
This Thanksgiving, may you have more peace inside you, love for those around you, and security in what lies ahead of you. All of this is possible because of who God is all around you.