Psalm 107:8 – “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!”
There are many Psalms of thanksgiving in the Bible, and we know dozens of verses that talk about giving thanks to the Lord. But what are we supposed to be thanking God for? This verse points out two distinct things we must thank God for:
• His goodness
• His wonderful works
We often focus on the second, and miss the first. We must not just thank the Lord for His works, the things He’s done for us, but also for who He is. It’s easy to make a gratitude list of all the good things the Lord has done for us – miracles, answered prayers, promotions, new possessions… But do we really take the time to thank God for who He is?
If we thank God only for what He’s done, we cannot maintain an attitude of gratitude all our days. Let’s face it, there will be times when we’re disappointed because God hasn’t answered a prayer or given us what we wanted at that time. However, when we focus on who God is, we can thank the Lord in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
No matter what your current circumstance is, God is always good. The Lord is our Savior, Healer, Redeemer, Friend, the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. He is loving and compassionate, kind and forgiving, righteous and just… And for that, we can always remain thankful.
