There are some words that seem to have fallen away from us as we’ve grown older. Living in the South, there is a high respect for those older than we are. Thus, such words as, “Yes, ma’am” and “Yes, sir” were expected of us when we were children. Those words are rare with adults. Some other words that we uttered as kids, but seldom spoken by adults, are “Thank you!” It is those words that I focus on here.
Being thankful is such a high honor of ours and such a privilege in our relationship to God. As the Lord answers our prayers, we need to thank Him for doing so. This is seldom performed by His servants. We may be grateful for the answered prayer, but Scripture commands us to be thankful.
As important as being thankful to God for His blessings are in our life, we are also to be thankful for the people God puts into our lives; this is especially true of Christians. So many times, God uses people to bless us and for us to be thankful for them. Alexander Whyte, the famous Scottish preacher, invariably began his public prayers with an expression of gratitude. One cold and rainy day when his people wondered how he could be grateful for the weather, he began by saying, “We thank Thee, O Lord, that it is not always like this.” A thankful heart brightens a dreary day and shortens the longest night.
Tucked away at the beginning of one of the letters that Paul wrote, he says, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). Yes, we should be thankful for the believers the Lord places in ours lives. We are better men/women because of the blessings they are to us.
Since we are grateful for the blessings others are to us, it just makes sense for us to let them know how grateful we are. Be generous in saying, “Thank you!”
